


Babysitting the Winchester Boys

by WaywardDaughter18



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Corporal Punishment, Discipline, Family, Family Relationships - Freeform, Grieving, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Parental Spanking, John Winchester is a good dad, Neglect, Non-Consensual Spanking, Parental Death, Pre-Series, Sammy is a little cutie, Shtriga, Spanking, Spanking in Later Chapters, Wee!chesters, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2018-12-23 00:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 122,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11978481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaywardDaughter18/pseuds/WaywardDaughter18
Summary: Kate is a somewhat neglected girl who babysits Sam and Dean Winchester when they are children. The three of them become close as they get to know each other.Implied parental spanking of children in some chapters.  There will be spanking in later chapters. Don't like it, don't read.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Pre-series AU Wee!chesters fic. John Winchester is a mechanic who "hunts" supernatural creatures on the weekends. Dean knows what he does, but Sam does not (yet). At the time of the story John is not sure what killed his wife, but he knows it was something supernatural. 
> 
> Dean is 10 years old, Sam is 6 years old, and Kate is 13 years old.  
> ***********

TUESDAY  
I started taking care of the Winchester boys when I was in Seventh Grade. There was a small already furnished house up the street from us that the owners rented out. One day at dinner my father told me that a family had moved in.

“It's a widower with two young boys.” he said. “He just started working over at the Mechanic's. I told him you'd be willing to watch his boys after school, until he gets home.”

“You know I don't like it when you volunteer me for stuff like this!” I protested. 

“It's a chance to do something nice for someone else. Plus, it will look good that we're helping out. I'm afraid he can't pay you very much.” My father was in local politics and my mother was his manager. They were very invested in “Doing Good Things For the Community” and in making sure that they looked good at all times. I was strongly encouraged to “Do Good Things” too, like take care of his co-worker's kids for free. Politician's kids are mostly either completely wild or really bratty because they get everything they want.

I rolled my eyes. “Great. And his kids are probably brats who don't listen, or complete animals.”

“I told him we'd stop by tonight to meet the boys.”

 

After dinner was cleaned up, we walked up the street to the small ranch house. As we walked up the sidewalk, I could hear the sounds of kid's voices yelling inside the house.

The door opened and a tall man stood there. “Boys, stop jumping on the sofa!” he called back over his shoulder, and stepped back to let us in. We went into the kitchen and the men shook hands.

“Katie, this is John Winchester.” my father said.

“It's Kate.” I said, shaking his hand. He had dark hair and a scruffy beard. His large hand was calloused.

“Hi Kate” he smiled, showing deep dimples. “Boys!” he called. “Come here, there's someone I want you to meet.”

Two boys came running into the kitchen. They were both wearing towels pinned to their shoulders like capes and little black eye masks.

“This is Dean.” Mr. Winchester introduced, touching the taller one on the head, “and this is Sam.” he touched Sam's head. Dean had light brown hair cut short and Sam's hair was darker and slightly curly and longer. 

“I'm not Sam, I'm Batman!” the smaller boy said.

“We don't need a babysitter, I can watch Sammy myself.” the taller boy said sullenly.

Mr. Winchester looked down at him. “Dean, we already talked about this, and it's decided. Kate is going to pick you up from the bus stop and watch you two until I get home from work. No more lip about it, understand?”

“Yes sir.” Dean said glumly. He glanced at me.

“C'mon, Dean, we need to save Gotham!” Sam said.

Mr. Winchester put his hand on Sam's shoulder. “No, it's time for superheroes to get ready for bed.”

“Aww Dad!” Sam whined. “We were just getting to the good part!”

“It's a school night, Sammy.” Mr. Winchester said. “You can continue your game tomorrow. Go on.” 

The boys left the room and my father and Mr. Winchester chatted for a moment. 

“I'll leave the number for the garage on the refrigerator, in case there's an emergency.” Mr . Winchester said.

“My wife is often at home too.” my father said.

“We'll see you tomorrow.” The men shook hands again and we left.

 

WEDNESDAY  
The next day I did as much homework as I could, then I walked to the bus stop. There were a couple cars parked on the corner, waiting for their kids.

The bus pulled up and the doors opened. I walked up to the door.

“You Kate Young?” the bus driver asked. “You got some ID?”

“Yes, I'm picking up Sam and Dean Winchester.” I showed her my school ID.

“All right. Mr. Winchester sent a note to school about it today.” she glanced back. “C'mon boys! Let's go!”

The kids all started to get off the bus. Dean gave me a dirty look and started walking. Sam took my hand. “Always hold hands in the street.” he told me.

“That's right” I said, following Dean. I realized I didn't know how we were going to get into their house. Dean took a key out of his backpack and unlocked the door. We followed him in. The boys put their backpacks on the floor next to the door.

“I'm hungry.” Sam announced. 

“Are you allowed to have a snack?” I asked. 

Dean turned and looked at me “Duh.” he said disdainfully. “What do you want, Sammy?” he asked. “Apple slices with peanut butter?”

Sam's eyes lit up. “Yeah!”

I stood there feeling useless as Dean got out two apples, a jar of peanut butter, and a large knife. 

Sam's eyes got big when he saw the knife. “Dean, you're not allowed to use that knife when Daddy's not here! I'm telling!” he said.

I stepped up to the table. “Why don't you let me cut the apples up.” I said.

Dean gave me another dirty look. “I can do it.” he said stiffly. “I'm not a little kid.” He started to cut the first apple up. He looked at Sam. “If you tell, I won't let you read any more of my comics!” he said. 

Dean had no idea what he was doing with the knife or how to hold the apple. 

I tried again. “Dean, can I show you the correct way to slice an apple?”

He stopped cutting and glared at me. “ I don't need your help.”

“I think you do.” I said. “The slices are supposed to go the other way.”

“I don't want to eat that one!” Sam said. “That looks wrong!”

Dean sighed angrily. “Gee Sam, thanks for siding with me!” he said sarcastically. He stomped out of the kitchen.

“What side? There's no sides! Dean! “ Sam called after him, following his brother.

I started to cut up the apples. Sam walked back in, looking dejected. “Dean won't talk to me, I think he's mad at me.” he said worriedly. “What did I do?”

“You didn't do anything.” I told him. “I think Dean is upset because he thinks I shouldn't to be here.” 

“Yeah, he was mad when Daddy told us about you. He said, 'We don't need a stupid girl babysitting us!'” Sam said.

“Oh really?” I raised my eyebrows.

“You're good at that.” Sam said, leaning on the table as I finished up with the knife. 

“Thanks.” I said. “Want to help me put the peanut butter on?”

“Yeah!” he said happily. I got out 2 butter knives and showed him how to spread the peanut butter on the apples.

“This is hard.” Sam said. “It won't stick!”

“Pick it up and hold it like this.” I showed him. When we were done, he sat down.

“I'll tell Dean it's ready.” I said. I walked through the living room and down a short hallway and knocked on a door. “Dean” I called. “The apples are ready if you'd like some.” Nothing. Then the door opened and Dean stood there, glowering. 

“Look.” I said.” I'm here, whether you like it or not, and I'm not going to go away just because you're all grumpy.” I turned and went back to the kitchen.

He came in after me and sat down. I washed the knives we had used and put them in a drying rack that was next to the sink. 

“Dean, you know that boy Taylor? He said if we each give him 25 cents, he would eat a rotten apple that's on the playground!” Sam told his brother.

“He's gross.” Dean said.” Don't you give him anything.”

“I won't.” Sam licked peanut butter off his fingers.

“Is that Darryl kid still bothering you?” Dean asked Sam. 

Sam shook his head. “Uh-uh. The teacher moved everyone's seats around.” he looked up at me. “Could I have some milk please?”

“Sure” I said. After a little bit of searching, I found the cabinet with the dishes. 

“Dean, do you want some?” I asked as I poured a glass for Sam.

“No” he said shortly.

“Say 'No thank you', Dean.” Sam told him. “Just 'cause you don't like her doesn't mean you should be rude. Thank you.” he said to me as I set the glass down in front of him. 

I chuckled. “Dean, you don't like me? You don't even know me.”

He looked up at me, anger in his eyes. “I don't need a babysitter!” he exclaimed, and stood up and stormed out of the kitchen again.

Sam finished eating and put the dishes in the sink. He came over to me and hugged me. “I like you. I think you're nice.”

“Thanks, Sam I am.” I said. He gave me a funny look. “You know, the Dr. Seuss book, Green Eggs and Ham?” He shook his head.

“I'll have to see if I can find it at my house. There's a character in it called Sam I am.” I told him. He brought his backpack to the table and did his homework. I washed the dishes and put them in the drainer as well. When Sam was finished, we went into the living room and Sam turned the tv on to some cartoons.

I heard the low rumble of a car engine. Sam sat up. “Daddy's home!” he said happily. He got up and ran into the kitchen. I followed him and got there just as Mr. Winchester came in. Sam launched himeself at his father, running up to him and jumping up with his arms wide. Mr. Winchester bent down and caught Sam and lifted him up in a hug. “Hi Daddy!” Sam said happily.“I like the new babysitter, but Dean doesn't. She's nice.”

“Go tell your brother I'm home.” Mr. Winchester said. He put Sam down and Sam left the kitchen.

Mr. Winchester looked at me. “How did your first day go?”

“It was fine. Dean gave me attitude, but that's okay.” I shrugged.

“No, it's not okay. He shouldn't be giving you a hard time.” he sighed. “He's 10 going on 30, wants to take care of himself and be independent.”

I pointed to the dish drainer.” He got out that big knife to cut apples with and Sam said he wasn't allowed to use it when you're not here. Sam threatened to tattle.”

Mr. Winchester rolled his eyes. “Dean's just showing off and trying to see how far he can push things with you. He's stubborn, don't let him push you around. I'll talk to him tonight.”

“I won't.” I said. 

Sam came back into the kitchen. “I finished my homework!” he told his father. 

“Bye, Sam.” I said. 

“Aww, can't you stay longer?” he asked.

“No, I have to go home and finish my homework.” I said. “See you tomorrow. Bye, Mr. Winchester.”

 

THURSDAY  
The next day Dean didn't talk to me after they got off the bus, but he did walk with us. He unlocked the door and we went inside. 

Sam was chattering about a book he had gotten out of the library. Dean started to leave the room.

“Dean, you're s'posed to do your homework!” Sam called.

“I'm doing it in my room.” Dean said over his shoulder.

Sam looked sad. “We always do it together at the kitchen table.”

“I'll sit with you.” I said. “And then we can read your book, if you want.”

Sam wanted carrots with dip for a snack today. I walked back to the bedroom to ask if Dean wanted any. The door was open. The bedroom had 2 twin beds, a dresser, and a small shelf that held an assortment of books and toys. Dean was sitting on the bed closer to the door.

I stood at the door and knocked on the door jamb. “Do you want a snack? I'm getting carrot sticks for Sam.”

Dean glanced at me. “No, uh, no thanks.” he said quietly. Wow, manners, I said to myself. I wondered if his dad had talked to him. 

Sam and I were sitting in the living room reading his book when we heard the car. Sam jumped up again and ran to greet his father. I went into the kitchen as Mr. Winchester was coming in. He asked me how things went and I told him everything went fine. 

 

FRIDAY  
The next day Sam was eating his snack when the phone rang. 

“Hi Kate, it's Mr. Winchester. I'm going to be running late tonight, I'll be about an hour later than usual. Can you stay?”

“Yes, that's fine.” I said.

“Thank you. If the boys get hungry, there's some soup in the pantry they can heat up.”

“Okay.” I said. “I can make dinner for them if you want.”

“There's ground beef in the fridge. I was going to make hamburgers, but you don't have to do if you don't want to.”

“Okay.” I said again. “See you when you get home.”

I looked in the fridge and pantry to see what kind of supplies there were. I told Sam, “Your dad is going to be home late, so I'm going to make dinner. Do you like pasta?”

“I love pisgetti!” Sam said. He had a milk mustache. 

“Sam, you have a milk mustache.” I told him. He wiped his face on his sleeve before I could say, “Get a napkin.” 

I searched through the cabinets and found the pots and pans and everything I needed. 

Sam had gone to watch tv. I heard him call to Dean. “Come watch! It's the episode where they send Skeletor back in time!” Soon I heard them both talking in the living room.

I browned the ground beef and diced up and onion and a tomato and added them with some spices. Then I put a pot of water on to boil.

Dean walked into the kitchen. “My dad called?” 

“Yeah, he's going to be late. I'm making dinner for you. Do you like pasta?” I looked at him.

“When is he coming home?”

“He said he'd be about an hour late, so in about a half an hour.”

Sam walked in. “That smells yummy! Dean's s'posed to set the table and I fold the napkins.” 

Dean frowned at Sam, but he got out the dishes and silverware. “Are you going to be eating here?” he asked me.

“No, I'll need to get home.” I told him.

He set three places. Sam set out the napkins and I was putting out drinking glasses when we heard the familiar rumble of the car.

Mr. Winchester walked in and Sam launched himself at his father like he always did. “Hiya, Sammy!” Mr. Winchester kissed Sam's forehead.  
“Wow, something smells really good.” He put Sam down and walked over to me at the stove.

“What are you making?” he asked me.

“I hope you don't mind, I made pasta with meat sauce instead of hamburgers.” I told him, feeling a little nervous and embarrassed.

“No, it smells amazing. It's the first time in a long time that I've come home to someone else cooking dinner.”

I glanced at him, and he had a sad, faraway look in his eyes for a moment. Then he turned and walked over to Dean. 

“Hey, kiddo.” he ruffled Dean's hair. 

“Daddy, sit down! The table's all ready!” Sam said, grabbing his father's hand.

Mr. Winchester looked at me. “Do you want to join us?”

“Thank you, but I've got to get home and work on a huge report that's due on Monday.” I told him. “See you all then.”

“Have a good weekend.” Mr. Winchester said. “Thanks for the dinner.”

“Bye, Kate!” Sam ran up to me and hugged me before I left.

 

MONDAY  
The bus was late. I stood on the corner, wondering how long I should wait for it. Finally it pulled up. The bus driver waved me over and handed me a piece of paper. 

“Give this to the boy's Dad.” she told me. “They got in trouble for fighting on the bus, I had to pull over and break things up. School's been called.”

“Oh, wow.” I said. Sam and Dean walked off the bus, Dean looking sullen and Sam looking tearful. Dean had a bruise on one of his cheeks. 

“Are you guys okay?” I asked as we walked to their house. “What happened?”

“Tommy was bugging me, so I pushed him to make him leave me alone, an' then he pushed me back an' I fell off the seat an then Dean jumped on him and they started fighting!” Sam told me.

“So you didn't start anything, you were just defending yourselves.” I said.

“Yeah, but Dad isn't going to see it that way.” Dean said glumly.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We're not supposed to fight. And if we get in trouble at school, we get in trouble at home.” Dean said.

“I don't want a spanking!” Sam whined.

“I know Sammy. I'll try and convince him that it's my fault. I was just defending you.” Dean put his arm around Sam's shoulders.

“But it started 'cause of me, an' you wouldn't have gotten in trouble if it wasn't for that!” Sam looked up at him.

“Yeah, but Sammy, you're my little brother, and I'll always defend you, you know that.”

Sam hugged Dean. “I love you Dean. You're the best big brother ever.”

“Do you boys want a snack?” I asked them. 

Sam shook his head. “My tummy is nervous.” 

They sat at the table trying to do their homework but I could tell that they were both distracted. We heard the Impala at the same time, and both boys sat up straight. 

Mr. Winchester came in the door with a serious look on his face. 

“I just got a call from the school.” he said, putting his hands on his hips.  
“Both of you, boys? Really?”

Sam and Dean looked at the table guiltily. Mr. Winchester waited a moment, then said, “”Sam, report.”

Sam got out of his chair and stood up in front of his father, putting his hands behind his back. I noticed that his hands unconsciously covered his bottom. “Uh, Tommy was bothering me, so I said leave me alone an' pushed him, an' then he pushed me back but it was a really hard push and I fell off my seat onto the floor. An' some of the kids laughed at me! Then Dean told him to lay off and he jumped on Tommy and they started hitting each other.” Sam stared at the floor, shifting his weight back and forth from one leg to the other. At the end of the speech there were tears on his eyelashes.

“Dad, it's my fault.” Dean said. “I should have been sitting next to Sam, Tommy likes to bother the younger kids on the bus.”

“Dean, I appreciate you trying to take up for your brother, but you both played a part in this, and I think you know that you are both in trouble. I want you boys to go to your room and wait for me. I'll deal with you in a little bit.”

“Dad, I don't want a spanking.” Sam said. 

Mr. Winchester looked at him, and said sternly, “Samuel, room. NOW.”

Sam turned to me and gave me a quick hug, and then he ran after Dean, who was already trudging through the living room with his head down. 

Mr. Winchester sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “I know this is part of life with boys, but sometimes I really hate having to dole out consequences.” He looked at me with a rueful expression on his face. “I'll see you tomorrow, Kate.”


	2. Chapter 2

TUESDAY  
The next day, the boys were the first ones off the bus.

“We got assigned seats.” Dean said sourly. “Right behind the bus driver.”

“At least we don't have to sit near Tommy any more!” Sam said. “What books are those?” he asked me, noticing the books in my hand.

“They're by Jane Austen.” I said. “I have to do a big report on her.”

He looked at the cover of one, and said, “It has girls in fancy dresses on the cover. It's probably a boring grown up book with lots of words and talking about kissing, isn't it?”

I laughed. “Well, sort of.” I said. “Where did you learn about books with lots of kissing?”

“We had a babysitter before who liked to read books like that.” Sam told me.

“Yeah, except the covers of those books had guys with no shirt on and girls with their dresses falling off.” Dean smirked.

“Yuck.” Sam wrinkled his nose. “I'd rather read books about wizards or dinosaurs.”

I ruffled his hair. “You have plenty of time before you have to read books like Jane Austen.”

“I'm never gonna read books like that.” he said. “Bor—ing!”

“You never know.” I told him. By then we were at their house. We went inside the kitchen.

“Look, Kate, Daddy got a apple slicer!” Sam went to the dish drainer next to the sink. “So we can cut up apples ourselves!” He got a couple apples out of the refridgerator and put them on the table. “Dean has to do it, 'cause I'm not strong enough.” Sam told me.

I watched Dean use the apple slicer and resisted the urge to tell him, “Good job.” I still wasn't sure if his opinion of me had changed at all. 

They ate apples and did their homework while I read. They went into the living room to watch cartoons when they were done. 

“Hey Kate, come watch this one.” Sam called.”It's funny.” 

I went into the living room and sat and watched cartoons with them until their father came home. 

I realised halfway down the sidewalk that I had left my books. I started to walk up to the house and Mr. Winchester came out with my books. He handed them to me. “Jane Austen?” he asked.

“Yeah, I'm doing a report on her main charaters comparing them.” I told him.

“I don't thnk I read any Austen until I was in high school.” he smiled at me. “See you tomorrow.”

WEDNESDAY  
When the boys got off the bus the next day, they waited for one of the other boys. “We have to do our homework first, but we'll meet you in The Circle after.” Dean said to the boy.

“We're gonna go play with him later!” Sam told me excitedly.

I wasn't sure if it was okay with their Dad, but I decided to go with them. I wrote a note and left it on the kitchen table.

We walked down to the cul-de-sac, which all the neighborhood kids called “The Circle”. There were a bunch of kids hanging out there. Sam and Dean joined a couple boys who were tossing a football back and forth. I sat on the curb and read one of my books. 

Mr. Winchester walked up the sidewalk toward us. I stood up and walked over to him. “I hope it's okay that we came down here.” I said. 

“That's fine.” he said. “Thanks for leaving me the note.”

We walked past my house as we walked back. I got out my key. 

“I'll see you tomorrow.” I told them. 

“No-one is home at your house.” Sam said. “Why not?” 

“My parents don't get home till later.” I said. 

“Do you get scared being home by yourself?” He looked up at me.

“No, I'm used to it.” I said. “See ya.”

I walked up the stairs to my front door and let myself in.

THURSDAY  
Mr. Winchester called and told me he was going to be late again. I told him I would make dinner if he wanted. Again, he told me that it was up to me. I looked around in the pantry for stuff and decided to make home-made mac-n-cheese. 

Sam walked into the kitchen while I was standing at the stove.

“What are you making?” he asked.

“Home-made mac-n-cheese” I said. 

“Home-made? Is that the cheese?” He pointed at the pot I was stirring.

“It's going to be the sauce.” I told him. “Want to help?”

His face lit up. “Okay!” 

He pulled a small kitchen stool over to the stove.

I handed him a small measuring cup of flour. He leaned over and looked in the pot on the stove. “That's cheese?”

“No, that's melted butter. We're making a roux. It's going to be the cheese sauce eventually.” I explained.

I let him put the flour into the melted butter and then told him to keep stirring it. I grated some cheese and kept an eye on him stirring. 

“Now we need to put the milk in.” I said, handing him the cup of milk. He poured it in carefully, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration.

“Keep stirring.” I told him. “It's going to thicken up eventually.”

Once the water was boiling I poured the noodles into the pot.

I took over stirring the sauce mixture and then let him put the cheese in little by little.

He got bored and left to go watch cartoons. It can take a long time for the sauce to thicken. 

I finished putting the noodles and sauce together and put the dish in the oven to bake, then washed the pots I had used. I was drying my hands when Mr. Winchester walked in. 

“I can tell you've been cooking.” he said. “What did you make today?”

Sam came running in and jumped on his Dad, who swung him up.

“I helped Kate make kangaroo sauce!” He told his Dad proudly.

Mr. Winchester laughed, and looked at me. “What kind of sauce?”

I chuckled. “No, Sam, we made a roux. R-o-u-x.”

Mr. Winchester raised his eyebrows. “I don't think I've ever heard of that. Are we eating gourmet tonight?” He put Sam down.

“No, I made home made mac-n-cheese. You make a sauce called a roux first and then add the cheese and bake it in the oven. I hope the boys like it, it's a little different thatn the boxed kind.”

“Huh.” he said.” Well, you learn something new every day. I'm sure it will taste good.”

“You can take it out of the oven in about 20 minutes.” I told him. “See you tomorrow.”

Sam hugged me and said, “See ya!”

 

FRIDAY  
The boys went down to The Circle first. I had a couple pages of science to study, and then I was going to walk down to them.

I heard my name being called and went to the door. Sam came running up the sidewalk. 

“Kate! Kate! Dean fell down and got hurt!” I walked up to where two boys were supporting Dean, who had two very bloody knees. I put my arm around his waist and helped him into the house.

“Let's go to the bathroom.” I said. 

I sat Dean down on the closed toilet seat. He started to stand up. I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down.

“Dean, I've got this.” I said firmly. “Sam, do you have some gauze pads and tape and stuff? I think we're going to need more than a couple band-aids.”

“In the hallway closet.” Sam said. I followed him into the hallway and he pointed at the door. 

“I'm not allowed to go in there.” he told me. “Daddy said there's dangerous medicines in there.”

I opened the door. There was a large supply of bandage materials and tape and cotton balls and everything. There was a locked box on the top shelf. I wondered if that was where the medicine was. I took out what I needed and we went back into the bathroom. I wet a washcloth, knelt down, and started cleaning Dean's knee. He hissed from the pain. 

“Sam, hold Dean's hand.” I told him. 

“It's okay, Dean.” Sam said, taking Dean's hand in both of his. “I got you.” 

I finished wiping all the dirt and dried blood out of the cut on his knee, then I cleaned it with peroxide. I looked at Dean. “I know this stings too. Are you doing okay?”

He nodded, but his face was pale. I applied antibiotic cream onto the wound and them taped a gauze pad in place over it. Then I did the same thing to his other knee. I stood up. “There you go. “ I said. “Let's get you onto the sofa and put your legs up.” 

All of a sudden, Dean leaned forward and threw his arms around my waist, burying his face in my shirt. His shoulders shook for a moment and I heard him exhale hard. I put my arms around him and hugged him. 

“It's okay to cry, you know.” I told him. 

He took a couple deep breaths and then let go of me and sat back. 

“Lemme take a leak.” he said gruffly. His face was red and his eyes were wet. “I'll be out in a minute.”

“Come on, Sam.” I said. 

When Dean came out Sam made a big show of putting pillows under Dean's knees and bringing out one of his stuffed animals for Dean to hold. I made some peanut butter crackers and brought them into the living room for him. 

Dean glanced up at me and said in a small voice, “Thanks.” He gave me a wan smile. 

When Mr. Winchester came in, of course Sam had to run and tell him that Dean had gotten hurt. 

“Dean fell down in the street when they were playing football and hurt both his knees and there was so much blood! But Kate cleaned him up and put big bandages on him. She's almost as good as you are, Daddy!” 

Mr. Winchester came in to the living room and walked over to Dean. “How are you feeling, son?”

“Sore.” Dean said. “I'll live.” Mr. Winchester ruffled Dean's hair.

“I brought his snack out here so he could put his legs up.” I said. “I know you have a rule about food staying in the kitchen.”

“That's all right. It's mostly so that these knuckleheads don't end up leaving banana peels and food wrappers all over the house.” he told me. “Thanks for taking care of Dean.” he smiled warmly at me.

“No problem. Have a good weekend, guys.” I told them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies if this seems a little slow-paced right now. The chapters become longer and more detailed as the story goes on. Please let me know what you think so far! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

MONDAY  
Sam took my hand when he got off the bus, as usual. Dean and another boy got off the bus one right after the other, and Dean said to him, “We'll see you in a little while.” The other boy walked in the opposite direction, and Dean turned to me and said, “Hey.” I felt happy that he was acknowledging me now. 

The boys did their homework, and then we walked down to The Circle. I had forgotten to bring my book, so I sat on the curb and watched as the boys threw the football.

“Hey Kate, come play, we need another person.” called Jake, one of the other teen boys.

“Uh, no thanks, I don't know anything about football.” I said.

“We're not playing the actual game, we're just throwing it. C'mon, we need you on our side.”

“Fine.” I stood up. “But I warn you, I'm a klutz.” 

I tried to pay attention, but I was actually a little scared of the ball, so when I came towards me, I backed away from it. As it turns out I had reason to be afraid, because the ball ended up hitting me right in the face.

“OUCH!” I said loudly, bending over. My eyes teared up from the pain in my nose. The boys came over to me quickly, and when I stood up, Sam's eyes got wide.

“Your nose is bleeding!” he told me. 

I put my hand up to my nose and it came away bloody. “Wow, I've never had a nosebleed before.” I said. 

“Lemme run into my house and grab some ice.” said Tim, another neighborhood boy. 

Dean and Jake both took my arms and led me over to the curb.

“Sit down here.” Jake said. “Man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to throw it that hard.”

“Pinch your nose.” Dean told me. Sam sat down on the ground in front of me and Dean sat next to me. 

“Are you okay, Kate?” Sam asked worriedly, watching me closely.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” I reassured him.

Tim came over with a wad of paper towels and a plastic baggie of ice.  
“Here's some paper towels.” he said. “Pinch your nose and once the bleeding is stopped, put the ice on it.”

I sat for a couple of minutes until the bleeding had stopped. The boys stood around me and chatted about school sports. 

“We should probably go back to your house.” I said, looking at Dean.

“Okay.” he said. 'C'mon, Sam.” 

We stood up and Dean said, “See you guys tomorrow.”

“Sorry Kate.” Jake said again.

“That's okay.” I said ruefully. “I told you I was a klutz.” 

Sam held my hand as we walked and Dean kept glancing up at me. We got back to their house just as their father's car pulled up the the curb. He came in right after us.

“What happened?” he asked.

“We were playing football and Kate got hit in the face. ” Dean said.

“Oh geez.” Mr. Winchester said. “Let me look at it.”

I took the ice off my face and he leaned down and looked at me.

“I don't think your nose is broken.” he said. “Putting ice on it right away was a good idea. Are you going to be okay?” 

“Yeah, I'm fine.” I said. 

Sam jumped up on his Dad and hugged him. 

Mr. Winchester took something out of his pocket as he held Sam on his hip. “Here, I wanted to give you a house key.” he said. “Just in case Dean forgets his, which has been known to happen.”

“Thank you.” I said, feeling flattered. That made me feel like he trusted me. 

 

 

TUESDAY  
We were walking down the The Circle when Jake came over to us. “Jimmy found a huge black snake at the stream. Want to come see it?”

“Uh, I thought the stream was off limits to kids.” Dean said.

“I won't tell if you don't.” said Jake.

“I want to see the snake!” Sam said. “Pleeeease, Dean?” He looked up at me. “Kate, can we?”

Dean looked at me seriously. “We can't tell Dad.” he said. “We'll go for just a minute.” 

The stream ran behind the houses on my street and the area at the end of the stream was known to be a hangout place for teens to party. There was a lot of trash and junk there. It was an unspoken rule in the neighborhood that younger kids really weren't supposed to go.

I felt a little worried. Maybe I should say something? Sam took my hand and looked up at me. “I've never seen a real live black snake before!” he said excitedly.

“We need to be careful.” I told him. We followed Jake, his sister, and a couple other kids through the yards and walked along the dirt at the side of the stream. 

“It's low right now because we haven't had a lot of rain.” Jake said. “Don't slip in the mud.” We stopped at a place where the water was like a shallow puddle and the dirt around it had turned to viscous mud mixed with sand. Jimmy brought the snake over, carrying it on a stick, and dropped it on the ground.

“Don't worry, it's dead.” he said. The kids bent over it, oohing and aahing. It was probably about 4 feet long. 

“Dean, Sam, let's go.” I said, nervously. I had no idea how long we had been there. We walked back to their house and went into the living room.

Dean turned on the tv and we sat down to watch. We heard the car pull in and the kitchen door opened, and then Mr. Winchester called, “Who tracked mud into the house?” in his deep voice. 

Oh, crap, I said to myself. I didn't think to look at our shoes. He came into the living room and stood there looking at us. 

“Well, I can tell by the guilty looks on all three of your faces that something happened. Who wants to tell me about it?” He put his hands on his hips. Nobody said anything for a long moment.

“Do I need to start spanking butts? Boys, report!” he barked. Both boys stood up. I wondered if I should too. Slowly, I stood up next to Sam. I felt just as scared as they did. I should have told the boys no, and they were my responsibility.

“Um, Jake told us that Jimmy found a black snake at the stream, so...we went to look at it.” Dean said, looking at the floor. He traced the pattern in the rug with the toe of his shoe. 

Mr. Winchester folded his arms and stared at all three of us. I couldn't meet his eyes. 

“You went down to the stream?” he asked tightly. 

“Yes sir.” Dean and Sam said together. Sam took my hand.

“Boys, you know that you are not allowed to go there!” His voice deepened with anger.

“Dad, it was a real black snake and it was really really long!” Sam said. 

“Samuel, I don't care if there was a real live dinosaur there. You broke a rule.” Mr. Winchester shifted his attention to me. “And you just allowed them to do this and went along with it? Do your parents let you go to the stream?” 

I felt like curling up into a ball under his intense gaze.

I cleared my throat. “No, sir, they don't.” I glanced up at him. 

“Well Kate, I have to say I'm disappointed. You made a bad judgment call in allowing the boys to go to the stream. You know all the trash that's down there. What if one of the boys had fallen on a broken bottle?” 

Tears came to my eyes. “I'm sorry sir, you're right, I should have said no.” I swallowed nervously, scared about what he would say to my question. “Are you going to fire me?” A tear trickled down my cheek and I wiped it away quickly, hoping no one had noticed.

He sighed heavily. “No, I'm not.” He looked at the boys. “You are grounded to the house for the rest of the week, no playing outside after school.” He pointed at me. “That goes for you too, young lady.” 

“I'm really sorry, Mr. Winchester. It won't happen again.” I said quickly.

“You can go now. I need to have a-- discussion-- with the boys about breaking rules.” 

“O-okay. Bye, boys. See you tomorrow.” 

 

WEDNESDAY  
The next day when I picked them up, I said, “Sorry about yesterday. I should have checked our shoes to make sure they weren't muddy.” 

“Well, we're the ones that wanted to go.” Dean said. “You just went along with us.”

“Yeah, but I'm your babysitter and I'm supposed to be the one in charge.” 

Sam asked me, “Did you get in trouble? Me and Dean got spanked.” 

“No, I didn't.”

“You didn't get into any trouble?” Sam was outraged. “That's not fair!” 

“My parents didn't get home until late, so I didn't even see them last night.” I told him. ”I don't think they'd care about something like that anyway.”

“Maybe Daddy should have spanked you too!” Sam said. “Then it would be fair.” 

“Sorry, Sam.” I said. 

They were eating their snack when someone knocked on the door. It was one of the kids from the neighborhood. 

“Can Dean come out to play football?” he asked.

“Um, actually, no. They got grounded yesterday because we went to the stream. They can't go out until next week.” I told him.

“Oh, okay. See ya.” he turned and walked away.

I went back to the kitchen table. “Sorry, guys.” I told them. 

Dean shrugged. “ S' okay. We can watch cartoons.”

We went into the living room after they had eaten, and Sam curled up next to me on the sofa as usual. Dean sat on the other side of me this time, instead of next to Sam like he usually did, and at one point he actually started leaning on my side a little bit. I didn't move or say anything, but it made me think that Dean was actually starting to like me a little bit.

 

THURSDAY  
The boys were excited when they got off the bus. 

“Guess what, Kate! We're going camping with Daddy this weekend!” Sam hopped up and down with excitement as we walked.

“That's neat. Do you like camping?” I asked them.

“Yeah, it's fun!” Sam said. “Daddy makes s'mores for us, and we can eat as many as we want!”

“Our Dad teaches us about hunting stuff too.” Dean said. “He got a bow for us and he's going to teach me how to use it this weekend.”

“That sounds interesting.” I said.

“Do you like camping, Kate?” Sam asked me. We walked into the house.

“I've never been.”

“You've never been camping?” Sam said incredulously.

“My parents aren't exactly the camping type.” I told him. “Too many bugs and not enough civilization. If my father was away from his phone or newpaper for more than a day, I think he'd lose his mind. Besides, he's too busy with his career to do something like that.”

Dean looked at me. “That's too bad.” he said. “Camping is great. Dad teaches us a lot of stuff when we go.”

“I'm glad you get to spend time like that with him.” I said. 

When Mr. Winchester came home, he told me that I didn't have to babysit them tomorrow, because they were leaving from school early to go camping. He gave me a roll of money and thanked me.

“We'll see you Monday.” he said.

“Have fun, you guys.” I said.

Sam came over to me. He hugged me two times. “I need to give you two hugs because I won't see you tomorrow!” he said.


	4. Chapter 4

MONDAY  
Sam got off the bus eager to tell me about their camping trip. 

When we got into their house, he showed me the things he had collected. He held a bag on his lap. “I found some pinecones,” he put them on the table, “And lots of acorns, but Dad said I should leave them for the animals to eat. So I got some of the tops. I found a blue feather. And these cool rocks!” he put a handful of rocks on the table. Some of them had shiny flecks in them.

“That shiny stuff is called mica.” Sam told me. “And those two are quartz.”

“This one is pretty.” I held up one that had a large piece of mica embedded in one side.

“You can have that one.” Sam said.

“No, you took these for your collection.” I said. “You keep it.”

“No, you can have it. I thought you would like that one, so I picked it up to give to you.” 

“Oh, thanks, Sam.” I smiled at him. 

He had collected some leaves too, but they had started to wilt and curl up at the edges.

I told him to get me a piece of paper and a crayon that didn't have a wrapper. He handed them to me, and I flattened a leaf out onto the table, then put the paper on it. I held the crayon on its side and rubbed it across the paper that was on top of the leaf, and the pattern of the leaf's veins showed up .

“Wow, that's cool!” Sam said. “Can I try?”

“Sure.” I said. He took a couple more pieces of paper out of his backpack and called, “Hey Dean, come look at this!” 

Dean walked out and watched Sam. “Isn't this cool?” Sam asked him.

Dean shrugged. “Sure, I guess.”

“So what did you do while you were camping?” I asked him.

“Dad taught me how to shoot a bow and arrow. It was hard at first, but I got the hang of it. I got blisters on my fingers. And Sam and I learned how to put up a tent and take it down.”

“That was hard.” Sam said. “I didn't like it.”

“Only 'cause you're too short to put it together.” Dean elbowed Sam.

“I'm sure it will be easier once you guys are older and bigger.” I told them. 

“Dad said he's going to take me hunting with him when I get big enough.” Dean looked at Sam. 

“Did you get to eat lots of s'mores, Sam?” I asked, remembering what he had said about them. 

“Yeah.” Sam said, but he looked down at his lap, seeming embarrassed.

“Sam got in trouble for playing with matches. He tried to light the fire by himself.” Dean said.

“Dean!” Sam blushed a little.

“I told you to wait for Dad to show you, but you just couldn't wait.” 

“Maybe some time you guys can show me how to make them, I've never tried them.” I said.

Sam looked at me, surprised. “You've never had s'mores?” 

I shook my head. “Nope. “

“Maybe if Daddy lights the grill one time he can make them in the back yard.” Sam said. 

Mr. Winchester walked in just then. 

“Make what in the back yard?” he asked. Sam got up and walked over to him like always. 

“Kate's never had s'mores!” Sam told him, hugging his dad. “Maybe you could make some for her.”

“That's a possibility.” he said. “You showing her all your treasures?”

“Yeah.” 

Mr. Winchester put Sam down. Sam walked over to the table. “And look what Kate showed me how to do!” he picked up a paper with the leaf rubbing on it. 

Mr. Winchester took it and looked at it. “That's interesting. Where did you learn how to do that?”

“Um, I helped out at a summer camp last year and learned how to do lots of crafts with kids.” I told him. 

“You have to show me how to do some more stuff like that, Kate.” Sam said. 

“I'll see if I can find my craft book at home. See you guys tomorrow.”

 

TUESDAY  
When the boys got off the bus, they were bickering. Both of them looked upset.

“I said leave me alone, Sam!” Dean said. “I don't want to talk to you!”

“I wasn't, Dean! I just asked you to move your dumb leg!” Sam flared at him, pushing him.

“Hey, boys, that's enough.” I walked faster so I could get between them. “What's going on with you two today?”

“Nothing.” Dean answered shortly.

Sam looked upset. “Nothin' except Dean's bein' a BUTTHEAD!” 

“Shut UP, SAM!” Dean turned and swung his backpack at Sam. The straps were long enough that it curved around me and banged into Sam.

“Hey!” he cried out. He stepped toward Dean and I moved between them.

“Boys, stop it!” I said firmly. I grabbed Sam's hand and said, “Dean, walk ahead of us.”

Sam tried to pull his hand out of mine. “Get off!” he snapped. I was shocked, I had never seen him act this way. When we got into their house, he yanked his hand out of mine and ran to their bedroom. The door slammed hard.

I looked at Dean. “What was that about?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “Dunno. Sam was being a jerk when he got on the bus.”

I knew that the way Sam was acting was totally out of character, so I went to his room and knocked on the door.

“Sam, can I come in? I want to talk to you.” I opened the door. He was laying on his bed on his stomach, with his pillow balled up underneath his chin.

I walked over to the bed. “What's up with you today?” I asked. I was surprised when I noticed that his eyes had tears in them, and he was trying not to cry. I sat down on the bed and put my hand on his shoulder. 

“Did something happen at school, Sam?” I asked. He curled his body around me, putting his head in my lap, his shoulders shaking as he cried. I stroked his hair until he had calmed down. 

“The teacher started reading this book to the class today. It was about a girl who didn't have a mom 'cause she died when the girl was a baby. And then she has to go live at a school, and her dad dies and she has to stay there. And it made me sad, be-because my mom died when I was a baby, an' then I started thinking, what if my daddy died?” he started sobbing again.

“Sara Crewe, right? I asked.

He glanced up at me, tears on his long eyelashes. “Yeah.” he sniffled.

“I read that book when I was a kid and it made me cry too.” I told him. “It's kinda sad, but it has a happy ending. She gets adopted by her father's friend and lives with his big family.” 

“Oh.”

“I didn't know about your mom, I'm sorry about that.” I said gently. 

“ 'S okay, I don't remember her or anything.” He sat up and wiped his face off with his hands. “Dean gets sad about it sometimes 'cause he remembers her.”

“I'm sorry.” I said again.

“When I was in preschool I used to pretend that my teacher was my mom.” he laughed. “Isn't that silly?”

“No, I can see why you would do that.” I told him. “I don't think you need to worry about your Dad dying any time soon.” 

“Yeah.” he said. He put his arms around me and hugged me. “Thanks for making me feel better. I'm glad you're our babysitter.”

“I like watching you two.” I said, hugging him back. “”You and Dean are sweet kids. Do you want to get a snack?”

“Yeah.” He stood up and we walked out to the kitchen. Dean was standing at the counter, pouring himself a glass of milk. Sam walked up to him and grabbed him in a hug.

“Sorry I was a jerkwad before, Dean.” he said.

“At least you admit that you are a jerkwad.” Dean said in an angry sounding voice. Then he turned and put his arm around Sam's neck and said, “Noogie!” and gave him one, laughing.

Sam yelped, “Hey!” and laughed, grabbing at Dean's arm. He reached down and tickled Dean's side. Dean hopped away from him, putting his hands up. 

“No tickling!” he said. 

Sam turned to me and looked at me. “Hey, are you ticklish?” he asked.

“Um, I don't know--” I started to say. Sam glanced at Dean and they both came over to me at the same time and grabbed me and started to tickle me. I found out that I am in fact, very ticklish. I was out of breath from laughing in no time at all. We all jumped when the kitchen door opened. Their Dad stood there.

“We just found out that Kate is ticklish!” Sam told him, and ran to jump into his Dad's arms. 

“Okay, but if she tells you to stop, you need to stop. She's a girl and she's probably not used to having two unruly boys rough-housing with her.” Mr. Winchester hugged Sam and then put him down.

“Sorry Kate.” Dean said. 

“It's okay.” I said. “I didn't mind it.”

“Oh, so we can tickle you?” Sam grinned at me.

“Not if I get to you first!” I told him, grinning back at him. “Oh, I wanted to tell you, the Middle School Science Fair is tomorrow if you guys are interested in seeing a bunch of experiments.”

“Are you gonna be there?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, I have to make sure I'm out of here by 6:00. It starts at 7:00.” 

“What's your experiment?” Dean looked at me.

“I grew crystals with different chemicals.” I said. 

“Crystals? Like the kind wizards use? Daddy, can we go see it?” Sam took his dad's hand. 

“Sure, Sammy, we can go.” he said, smiling at me.

 

WEDNESDAY  
I was standing next to my display at the Science Fair when someone ran into me from behind and grabbed me around the waist. I gasped, surprised.

I heard Mr. Winchester's deep voice say, “Sam!”

My waist was let go as I turned, and then Sam jumped in front of me. “Surprise!” he crowed happily.

Dean looked at me and said, “Hey.”

 

I couldn't help but smile at them. “You made it!”  
“Sammy really wanted to see everything.” Mr. Winchester told me.

“Are there any projects with dinosaurs?” Sam asked me.

“Umm, no, I don't think so. They're just projects that people can do at home.”

“I'm hoping that looking at all this gets Dean a little more interested in school.” Mr. Winchester put his hands on Dean's shoulders and squeezed them. Dean looked embarrassed. 

“Well, I happen to know that there are a couple of different experiments with making things explode. There's one in the next aisle over.” I said. “Boys like to blow things up, right?”

Mr. Winchester laughed.

My teacher came walking over. “Kate, is this your family? I didn't know you had little brothers. I'm Mrs. Jones, the Gifted teacher.” She stuck her hand out to Mr. Winchester, who shook it.

“Oh, no, these aren't-- well, these are the kids that I babysit after school.” I told her. “They wanted to come see the science projects.”

“I see.” she nodded, “Are you boys interested in science?” she looked at Dean.

“I'm interested in dinosaurs and outer space. And also wizards.” Sam told her.

She chuckled. “Well, dinosaurs and outer space are good things to start with. We don't have any projects here to do with either of them, but there's plenty of things to look at here.” She smiled and nodded and excused herself.

“She thought we were your brothers!” Sam said, jumping up and down. “That's funny!” 

“Are your parents coming?” Mr. Winchester asked me.

“No, there's a state senator visiting from out of town and my father's doing the whole dinner- and show- him around thing tonight.”

“Do you need a ride home?”

“No, I'm going to get a ride home with Holly. We have to stay and help clean up after it's over. Thanks, though.” 

“Let's look around a little bit, boys.” Mr. Winchester said. “Want to find some explosions, Dean?”

“Sure.” Dean said.

I had to stand by my project in case anyone wanted me to explain it. In a little while, I heard their voices as they came back over to where I was.

“We're going to go now.” Mr. Winchester said. “Thanks for letting us know about this, it was interesting.”

“Bye Kate!” Sam grabbed me around the waist in a tight hug.

“See you tomorrow.” Mr. Winchester put his hand on my shoulder.

“Bye, boys. See you tomorrow.” I said.

 

THURSDAY  
Dean was acting odd when we went into their house. Excited and secretive. 

The boys ate their snack quickly and then disappeared. 

I was reading 'Jane Eyre' in the kitchen for a while when I realized that I hadn't heard the tv turn on or anything. I went to look for them. As I walked down the hall towards the bedroom, I could hear murmuring. They weren't in their room. The bathroom door was open, so I knew they weren't in there either. I went to the end of the hall. 

They were standing by a desk in Mr. Winchester's bedroom and looking at something on the desk. I walked over to them. There was an old looking wooden box opened up, and inside the box was an old fashioned looking gun. 

“What are you doing?” I asked them.

They both turned to me with scared looks on their faces. Dean's face became smooth after a moment. “We're just looking at this cool new gun that my dad just got.” he said in a casual voice.

“Um, are you allowed to be looking at it?” I asked. “Guns aren't toys, you know.”

“I know that.” he snapped, sounding insulted. “I wanted to show Sam.” 

“Put it away, Dean.” I said. “It's not safe.” 

“I know how to handle a gun!” he exclaimed.

“Put it away.” I repeated. “I'm telling you that as your babysitter.”

He glared at me. Sam looked up at me nervously.

“Fine.” Dean snapped. He shut the box, carried it over to a safe in the corner, put it into the safe, and shut the door. Then he stomped out of the room and went into his bedroom, slamming the door.

“Come on, Sam.” I said. He followed me out to the living room. I turned on the tv for him. I felt upset. Why were there guns in the house? Were there others I didn't know about? How did Dean take it out of the safe? Was he allowed to take it out? 

I went into the kitchen and sat at the table by myself. I felt nervous and scared. I knew I had to tell Mr. Winchester about this. 

All too soon, I heard the sound of his car engine. I got up and walked out to the porch to meet him. 

He looked at my face. “Kate, what's wrong?” he asked with concern. “Did something happen?”

“Well, um, I'm sorry, I, um, caught Dean looking at a gun in your bedroom.”

His face became like stone. “What?” he asked tightly.

“The boys disappeared for a while and I went looking for them and they were in your room, there was an old looking gun in a box on your desk. Dean said he was showing it to Sam. I told him to put it away and he got mad at me. He said he knows how to handle a gun, but I didn't think he was allowed to have it out when you weren't there.”

“He showed it to Sam?” he asked, his voice getting deeper in his anger.

“Yes sir.”

He walked around me quickly into the house and stood in the living room. “Dean Eric Winchester, get out here RIGHT NOW!” he thundered.

Sam sat up on the sofa, his eyes wide. His face was white. He bit his lip nervously.

Dean came walking out, trying to look sulky.

“You went into my room and took out the gun. To show your brother.” Mr. Winchester said in a hard voice.

All the color drained out of Dean's face. His eyes flicked to me and then back to his dad.

“Yes, uh, yes sir.” Dean's voice was barely a whisper.

“How in the HELL did you get into my safe? I know I locked it.”

“I, uh, was able to open it.” Dean stared at the floor, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“WHAT?!” Mr. Winchester's voice cracked across the room like a thunderclap. His anger was palpable. Sam flinched.

“I'm not going to ask you why, because frankly, I don't care about why. There is no why. I thought you knew better than to take a gun out to look at it on your own, let alone show your younger brother.” He walked across the room quickly, grabbed Dean's arm and turned him, and swatted his bottom three times. “Find a corner, now. Expect to be there for a while, I need to calm down. You are in serious trouble, young man.”

Dean walked over to the corner of the living room next to the book shelf and stood there, facing it. He put his head down. I felt bad for him.

Mr. Winchester turned to me. “Kate, thank you for making me aware of this, and I hope that it wasn't too upsetting for you. I normally don't keep guns in the house. This is an antique gun that I'm holding onto for someone and I'm going to give it to them this weekend. It was in my locked safe, so I thought it would be safe. You can go now.”

“I'm sorry--” I started.

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” he said tersely.

I turned to go. Sam got up and ran over to me and hugged me. He was shaking a little. He turned his face up to me. He looked scared.

“Dean's in big trouble.” he whispered. 

“I know, Sam. Taking the gun out was wrong.” I told him quietly, smoothing his hair back from his face. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

 

FRIDAY  
When the boys got off the bus the next day, Dean looked at me for a long moment. I hoped he wasn't mad at me. We started walking to their house.

“I'm s'posed to apologize to you for taking the gun out yesterday.” Dean said stiffly to me. “So I'm sorry. Dad said it was irr-- irresponsible of me and dangerous.”

“I hope you're not mad at me.” I said to him.

“I was, at first. But after Dad span-- I mean, uh, talked to me, I realized that I did a really dumb thing 'cause I could've hurt someone, and I don't ever want to hurt Sam. Or you.” He glanced up at me.

I put my arm around his shoulders and squeezed him. “I hope you didn't get into too much trouble.”

“Daddy spanked Dean with his b--” Sam started to say, wide eyed.

“Shut up, Sam!” Dean turned on him, looking embarrassed.

One of the neighborhood kids, Charlie, ran up to us as we walked. 

“Hey Dean, wanna meet in The Circle?”

“Can't.” Dean said. “I'm grounded this whole weekend.” 

“Oh, too bad. See ya later!” Charlie ran back down the street.

We went into their house and I looked for something to give them for a snack.

There wasn't much in the pantry, so I made them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

“Sam, do you want triangles, or squares?” I asked.

“Triangles.” he said. He watched me cut the sandwich, and then said gratefully, “Thanks, Daddy always forgets to ask.”

“No problem. Dean, triangles or squares?”

He shrugged. “I don't care.”

“Triangles taste better, Dean!” Sam said.

“Okay, triangles then.” Dean smiled at Sam and I cut the second sandwich up and handed it to Dean. Afterwards the three of us settled on the sofa to watch cartoons.  
Both boys sat close to me.

Mr. Winchester came in and Sam ran to him for his hug. 

“Dean, did you behave yourself today?” Mr. Winchester asked sternly.

“Yes sir.” Dean said.

“Good. Boys, we need to go to the grocery store tonight, so get your shoes on. I want you on your best behavior.”

“Yes sir.” both boys said. Mr. Winchester put Sam down and Sam came over to me and hugged me. “See you on Monday, Kate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: The book that Sam is talking about is 'A Little Princess' by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I read it when I was a kid, and yes, it made me cry too.


	5. Chapter 5

SATURDAY  
It was almost 10 pm on Saturday night when the phone rang. 

I picked it up and said, “Hello?” 

There was silence, then a small voice said, “Kate?”

“Yes, this is she. Who is this?” I had no idea who it could be.

“It's Dean.”

“Oh, hi. What's up?” I realized he shouldn't be calling me this late. “Is everything okay?” I was immediately concerned.

“Well, um--” he sounded nervous. “Our Dad's not here, and me and Sam were watching a scary movie, and Sam got really scared.”

I heard Sam in the background. “You were just as scared as me!” he protested.

“Can you come over and be with us for a little while?” Dean asked. His voice was shaky.

“Sure, I'll be there in a couple minutes.” I hung up and put my shoes on, then walked quickly to their house. Dean let me in and Sam ran to me and threw his arms around me, hugging me tightly. 

“What were you watching?” I asked Dean.

“The Thing.” he said. His face was pale and he looked uneasy.

“I don't know anything about that one, I don't like scary movies.” I said. “Where's your Dad?”

Dean looked even more uneasy. “Uh, he had to go hunting.”

“He went hunting and he left you guys here alone?” That didn't seem like something their Dad would do, but then, I didn't know him that well.

Dean shifted. “Um, no, see, he helps-- well, he got a emergency phone call from a friend of his and he had to go help him. He left this morning and he'll be back tomorrow afternoon.” Dean straightened up. “I'm big enough that I can watch Sam overnight, you know.” 

“Hmm.” I said, not wanting to point out that he had called me because they had gotten scared while watching a movie. 

Sam turned his face up to me. He looked really scared. “I didn't like that movie.” he whispered.

“Let's talk about something happy.” I said. I walked us over to the sofa and we sat down. Sam let go of me but then snuggled up closely to my side. I put my arm around him. 

“What's something that makes you happy?” I asked them. I saw a look pass between the brothers.

“When Daddy is here.” Sam said. “When I wake up in the morning and can smell coffee, 'cause it means that Daddy is here and awake.”

“That's nice.” I said. “What about you, Dean?”

“I like it when Dad teaches me stuff. He's teaching me how to shoot a gun. He's teaching us how to track now too.”

“Track?”

“Yeah, you know, finding the trail of an animal or whatever, in the woods.”

“Oh. He must really like hunting.” I wondered why he never brought home any of the meat. Maybe he sold it to make some extra money.

“Yeah.” 

Sam looked at me. “Kate, what makes you happy?”

“Um, I guess...when all my schoolwork is done and I can relax and read a book. And I really like cooking and baking, it relaxes me too.”

“Can you bake something for us?” Sam asked.

“We can bake something here if you want, like cookies. Want to do that?”

“YEAH!” Sam bounced on the sofa.

“Okay, Sam I Am, calm down. I think you're getting a little silly. Maybe it's time for you to go to bed.” I said. 

“No, I'm too scared.” Sam said. “I don't want to be alone. Can you stay?”

“Um...I guess so.” I said. “Are you boys ready for bed?” They were wearing their pajamas. 

“Yeah, we got ready before the movie started.” Dean said. 

“Can you tuck me in?” Sam asked shyly. 

“Sure.” I told him. I followed them into their bedroom and watched as they both got into their beds. I walked over to Sam's bed and pulled his covers up to his chin, then sat down. I leaned down and hugged him and kissed his cheek. 

“Good night, Sam.” I said.

He took my hand. “Don't leave yet.” he begged. “I'm still scared.” 

“I guess I can sit here for a little while. I'll sleep on the sofa, okay?” 

“Sing something.” Dean said suddenly. I looked over at him. He had the covers pulled up to his neck and was laying on his side facing us. He looked embarrassed. 

“Um, okay...let's see...” I got up and turned so that I was sitting against the headboard. “Scoot over a little, Sam.” I said to him.

I felt a little shy at first, but I sang “The Water is Wide”. Then I sang “Wild Mountain Thyme”. 

“Those are pretty songs.” Sam said in a quiet voice. “You have a nice voice.”

“Thanks.” I said, feeling shy. 

“Another!” Sam said. 

So I sang “The Skye Boat Song”. Then I looked at Sam. “You need to try to go to sleep, buddy.” I told him. 

His eyes looked tired, but I could tell he was trying to stay awake. I started to stroke his hair away from his face and ran my fingers through his hair slowly and repetitively. Soon his eyelids fluttered and stayed closed.

I looked over at Dean. He was laying there watching me. “Do you want me to stay here until you fall asleep?” I asked him. He nodded. 

I scooted down on Sam's bed so that I was laying down. I watched Dean fall asleep, and then suddenly I was waking up in the morning. Sam had curled against my side with his head nestled into my shoulder. 

 

 

“Now put this in.” I handed Sam a measuring cup full of sugar. He poured it into the mixing bowl. I turned toward the table, where Dean was sitting. 

“Dean, are you sure you don't want to help with this part?”

“Nah.” he said. “I'll help with the eating.” He grinned at me.

I added the rest of the ingredients and then told Sam to stir them together. Mr. Winchester didn't own an electric mixer, so we had to do it by hand.

We were making snickerdoodle cookies together. After we had gotten up in the morning, I had made them pancakes for breakfast. 

We had watched cartoons for a while, and then they had said they were bored. I told Sam we could make the cookies.

 

I mixed cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and put it on the kitchen table.

“Dean, you can help with this part.” I said.

I took the bowl and brought it over to the table and finished mixing the dough.

“What we're going to do is roll the dough into balls and then dip them in the cinnamon sugar.” I told the boys. 

I brought the cookie pans over and set them on the table. Then I took a small amount of dough in my hands and rolled it into a ball.

“Make the ball about this big.” I showed them how to roll it in the cinnamon sugar mix and the nput it on the cookie sheet. 

Both Sam and Dean enjoyed this part. 

“What would happen if we made a really big cookie?” Sam asked me.

“It would bake differently than the others. You want them to be all the same size, so that they all cook at the same rate.”

“Oh. Maybe we could make one batch of really big cookies, and eat them ourselves!” 

The cookie sheets were full, so I took them over to the stove and put them in the oven. I got out a plate and brought it to the table.

“You can keep rolling the dough into balls, just put them on here.” I said. We continued to make the dough balls until the mixing bowl was empty. I took the bowl over to the sink and washed it out. 

“When is your Dad supposed to be back?” I asked.

“Um, this afternoon.” Dean said.

“I should probably go after the cookies are done.” I said.

“No, stay!” Sam said. “I want you to stay, it's fun having you here.”

“I'm just worried about your Dad getting upset that you called me.” I told Dean. “I hope you don't get in trouble.” 

He looked uneasy. “He's gonna know you were here anyway 'cause of the cookies.” he said. “You might as well stay.”

“Okay then.” 

I took the pans out of the oven when the cookies were done and put the cookies on a couple of plates, since there weren't any cooling racks in the kitchen either. 

“Let me put the cookies on the pans, they're still hot.” I told Sam. “I don't want you to get burned.” 

“Won't you get burned?” he asked me.

“I've done this before, I know how to do it without getting burned.” I said. 

After I put the second batch in the oven, I brought a plate of cookies over to the table.

“Now we have to do a taste test.” I said.

“We do?” Sam looked happy.

“Yeah, the cook always gets to taste their food first.” I said. “Three cookies each.” 

 

 

We were sitting on the sofa watching cartoons when we heard the Impala pull up. Dean sat up straight next to me, squaring his shoulders, and I could feel the nervousness coming off of him. 

We all sat there, uncertain of what to do or say. The kitchen door opened and we heard Mr. Winchester 's voice call, “Guess what I brought home for my favorite guys!”

Sam stood up and ran into the kitchen., crowing, “Pizza!” Then we heard him say, “Guess what! Kate's here!”

Dean exhaled angrily. “Aw, Sam.” he said. 

Mr. Winchester came into the living room, his face curious. “Kate? What are you doing here?”

I glanced at Dean. “Um, well--”

Dean sat forward. “Dad it's my fault.” He looked nervous and miserable. 

All at once Mr. Winchester looked forbidding, “Dean, report.” he said sternly.

Dean stood up straight. “Last night we watched a movie and it was too scary and-- and I decided to call Kate--” Dean started, and then Sam over--rode him, “And we had a sleepover with her! It was fun! She sang to us and we made cookies today!”

Mr. Winchester looked at me, and raised his eyebrows. “You've been here since last night? What did your parents say?” 

“They're away at a weekend conference, they won't be back until tomorrow. I'm sorry sir, I just didn't want to leave the boys alone, especially after they were so scared.” I prayed that he wouldn't feel insulted or angry at me. 

He let out his breath and said, “There's no way that I can pay you for all your time here.”

“Please, don't worry about that.” 

“All right. Dean, you and I will have to have a talk later about your tv viewing habits. In the meantime, I need some hugs.” He opened his arms and both boys went to him and hugged him.

Sam turned to me and held out his arm. “Kate, you too!” he said.

“Um--” I said awkwardly, but Sam grabbed my wrist and pulled me over, so I put my arms around them and the 4 of us stood together briefly.

“Kate, I insist that you stay and have pizza with us.” Mr. Winchester said to me.

“Okay, thanks.” I said. We followed him into the kitchen and Dean got out the plates and set the table. I went over to the cabinet to get out cups and bumped into Mr. Winchester, who was reaching for the cabinet too.

“I'm sorry!” I said. 

He smiled at me. “It's okay. Too many cooks in the kitchen, I guess.” 

“I'll sit down.” I said, figuring I'd better let Mr. Winchester do what needed to be done, since it was his house and his kitchen. 

“Kate, sit next to me!” Sam said.

I took the chair next to him. Mr. Winchester opened the pizza boxes and served everyone.

“We can have cookies for dessert!” Sam said. He looked at me. “What are they called again?”

“Snickerdoodles.” I said.

“Where did you get the recipe?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“I have it memorized.” I said. “It's a real easy recipe, basically a sugar cookie.”

“Do you do a lot of baking?” he asked me.

“Um, yeah, actually I do. My mother taught me because she used to supply the refreshments for a lot of my dad's political meetings and I used to help her. Now she hires a bakery to do it, but I kept baking because I like it.”

“We need to make more cookies.” Sam said. “That was fun. I liked rolling to dough into balls and dipping them into the sugar.”

When we finished eating the pizza, Dean brought the plate of cookies over to the table. He set them in front of his father. “Try one, they're really good.” he said. 

“Oh, I take it that means you've already had some?” Mr. Winchester teased.

“Of course, the cooks have to do a taste test!” I grinned at Sam.

“Well, then I guess this plate is my share since you've already had yours.” Mr. Winchester picked up the plate and held it to his chest, grinning.

“Hey, Daddy, give it!' Sam laughed and grabbed for the plate. 

Dean and I laughed too, and I felt like I belonged for a moment. It was a nice feeling. When I baked with my mother, it was a very businesslike event, becaue she had to meausre everything exactly and keep track of how many cookies we made, so she would know if she had made enough, and she also had to keep track of how much of the ingredients she used, so she could tell my father's accountant about the money she had spent and get reimbursed. My mother was usually too distracted with counting everything to talk about anything with me. 

After we ate the cookies, I said, “I guess I should go.”

Mr. Winchester looked at me. “Thank you for being available to the boys.”

Sam got up and hugged me after I stood up. “We'll see you tomorrow”! He said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The songs that Kate sings are real folk songs. The Corries perform my favorite versions of “Wild Mountain Thyme” and “The Skye Boat Song”. Maura O' Connell performs a beautiful version of “The Water is Wide”. I've also discovered that Jensen Ackles performs “Wild Mountain Thyme” as well!


	6. Chapter 6

MONDAY  
We walked down the The Circle after the boys had their snack.

Sam went to draw on the sidewalk with chalk with a couple kids that were his age. Dean was standing with a couple of boys that rode the bus, and they were watching one of the boys play his DSI. 

There was a fancy looking muscle car off to the side that some older boys were clustered around. I didn't recognize most of them. An older teen stood in the center of the group, talking about the work he had done on the car. He gesticulated with his cigarette. I stood to the side, uncertain what to do. I was the only teenage girl there at the moment and I felt out of place. 

“So, yeah, I'm gonna let my cuz here help me rotate the tires.” The guy said, elbowing one of them. “Anyone else wants to take a look at the engine, I'll be workin' on it tomorrow.” 

His eyes came to rest on me. “So,” he said, taking a drag on his cigarette, “How YOU doin'?” 

“Um, I'm okay.”

“What's your name, pretty thing?” he asked, looking me up and down slowly. I felt uncomfortable. 

“Kate,” I told him. 

“Well, Kate, want to go for a ride with me? I can show you how fast this baby can go.” 

“Uh, I can't, I'm babysitting.” I stared at the ground so I didn't have to meet his eyes.

He glanced around and laughed. “Oh, babysitting. I don't see any babies. C'mon, it'll be fun.” 

“No thank you.” I said.

He reached over and took my arm, holding it above the elbow. He was holding it hard, and he pulled me toward the car. 

“Take a look at those seats. They're real leather, and I can promise you that the back seat is real comfortable.” He smirked and looked at one of the other boys, who chuckled. He shoved me forward and pushed my head down to the open window. “See?” he said with a laugh. 

I straightened up and turned around, and he was right there in front of me, pressing his body against me. I backed up against the car. The metal felt hot on my back. I felt myself starting to shake. 

“Excuse me.” I said. “I need to go.” I felt trapped.

He glanced at the guys again. “Oh, she needs to go.” He stepped even closer to me and leaned down with his face close to mine. “The only place you need to go is for a ride with me. I'll make you feel real good.”

I turned my head to the side. “Please stop.” I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. 

He laughed again, only it sounded mean this time. “Only if you say you' ll go with me later.” He moved his head so that his face was in front of mine. “And give me a little kiss-- HEY!” He shouted as he was jerked backwards away from me. 

Mr. Winchester stood there looking angry, holding the guy by the back of his collar. “What's going on here?” he snapped, glowering at the boy he held. His voice was deep with anger.

“What the hell, man! We was just talkin' !” the guy blazed at him. 

Mr. Winchester shook him. “That's not how it looked to me, you little shit. What the hell is wrong with you? She's 13 years old!”

The guy looked offended. “Well I didn't know that.” 

Mr. Winchester let go of his shirt and took his upper arm. “Get the hell out of here and leave these kids alone.” 

“Whatever, man. What--fucking--ever!” He yanked his arm away from Mr. Winchester and stepped away.

Mr. Winchester glanced around and called out, “Sam! Dean! Let's go!” He looked at me. “You okay, Kate?” I nodded. “Come on.” he said. 

He put his hand on the small of my back and guided me up onto the sidewalk. The boys scurried over and fell into step beside me. Sam took my hand, and then Dean took my other hand. I was shaking and still felt scared. 

Tears came to my eyes as we walked and I bit my lip to keep them from falling. Mr. Winchester walked in front of us and I tried to figure out his mood from the way he was walking and the set of his shoulders. Was he angry with me? 

We walked into their house and Mr. Winchester turned around and looked me in the face. 

“Did that boy hurt you?” he asked in a clipped voice. 

“Um, no, I'm fine.” I said, although my voice shook. “I'll go now.” 

“You don't look fine.” He said. “Sit down for a minute.” 

“No, really--” I reached up to wipe my nose and my hand was trembling. 

“Dean, get Kate a glass of water.” Mr. Winchester said. “ Look at you, you're shaking. Stay here until you feel at little calmer.” He looked concerned. 

“Don't be scared, Kate.” Sam said. “We'll protect you.” 

“Yeah, we'll kick that guy's ass if we see him again!” Dean said from the sink.

“Dean, watch your mouth. ” Mr. Winchester said dryly, glancing at him. He looked at me again. “At least let me walk you home. I want to talk to your parents about this.”

“Um, they're coming back tonight.” I told him. At the thought of going home and sitting alone in the house all night, my eyes filled with tears. I bit my lip again to make them stop, but then my chin was trembling and before I knew it the tears had started pouring down my cheeks. 

Mr. Winchester stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. 

“It's all right.” he said. “Let it out.” I was embarrassed to be crying in front of them, but feeling his strong arms around me made me feel better. It was kind of like being hugged by a big bear. 

“I know you were scared.” he said gently. “You're safe now.” That just made me cry harder. We stood there for a few minutes until I calmed down. He let go of me and stepped over to the table to get a napkin. He handed it to me and I wiped my face.

“Sorry.” I said shakily. 

He shook his head. “Nothing to be sorry about.”

Sam came over to me and hugged me, and Dean handed me a glass of water.

“What time are your parents due back?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“Probably not until 9 o' clock or later.” I said. 

“I think you should stay here until they get home. I'm not comfortable with the idea of you being alone right now. You're still shaken up.”

“Stay and have dinner with us!” Sam said. “And then we can play a game afterwards!”

“Okay.” I said. “I'll stay. Thank you.”

Sam took my hand and led me into the living room. “I wanna sing for you!” he said. 

Dean followed us in and rolled his eyes. “Not this again!”

“What are you going to sing?” I asked. 

“The first grade is having a musical this week! I'm a frog!” Sam hopped up and down. “I have to practice singing all the songs every night!”

“And he knows them all by heart.” Dean said. “I can't wait 'til it's over.”

Sam looked at me. “Can you come and see me? Please?”

“When it is?”

“I don't know which night. Daddy knows. You can ride in the car with us and everything! And Daddy said we can go out for ice cream afterwards! Can you come, Kate? Please?” Sam begged.

“Sure.” I said.

“You don't have to ask your mom or dad?”

I shook my head. “They probably won't even be home that evening.”

Sam stood up straight and cleared his throat. The he sang 3 songs, surprisingly on--key. There was a song about the life of a frog, and there was a song about living in a swamp, and there was a song about catching flies and eating bugs, which had lots of hand motions, and had Sam in a fit of giggles.

By the time he was finished singing, Mr. Winchester called us to the table to eat dinner.

 

Mr. Winchester walked with me down to my house. The lights were on and my parent's car was at the curb.

My mother turned as we walked in. “Katie, where were you?”

“Mr. Winchester. How are you, sir?” My father walked over and shook his hand.

“I'm doing all right, how are you?”

“I'm fine. What can I do for you?” My father looked at him.

“Well, I wanted to let you know, there was a boy in the neighborhood who was harassing Kate earlier. I told him to leave. I didn't recognize him, but I think he might be a relative of the Johnsons down the street. You might want to talk to them. He's an older teen, and he didn't seem to think there was a problem with putting the moves on a young girl.”

My father looked at me disapprovingly. “Katie, why are you hanging around with hooligans?”

“I wasn't 'hanging around with him', I went to The Circle with the boys, we go there a lot, and he was just there. He started talking to me.” I told him.

He shook his head and glared at me. “You should know better than to engage with low lifes.”

“I had no idea he was going to talk to me, or that he was a 'low life'!”

“Watch your tone, young lady!” He looked at Mr. Winchester. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. See you later.” My father ushered him out the door. Then he turned to me.

“If you start slutting around with juvenile delinquents, I will ship you off to boarding school halfway across the country. I'm not going to have all my hard work ruined by a daughter with a bad repuation!” He snapped.

“What?! I didn't even do anything!” I protested. “He was bothering me! If Mr. Winchester hadn't shown up when he did I don't know what would have happened!” 

“Go to your room!” he shouted. 

I went, tears in my eyes.

TUESDAY  
The boys got off the bus and both said hi to me, looking very serious. Dean turned around as we started walking and looked around. Sam took my hand. Dean fell into step beside me.

“What's going on, guys?” I asked them.

“We want to protect you from that guy!” Sam said.

“We're keeping an eye out in case he comes around.” Dean told me. “Let's stay inside today.” 

“That's very sweet.” I said. “You don't have to protect me, though. We can go down to The Circle if you want.”

Dean looked up at me. “It's my job to protect Sammy, and I feel like you're part of the family, so it's my job to protect you too.” he said seriously. 

“Dean, that's..that's...wow. That's such a nice thing to say.” I put my arm around his shoulders and hugged him. “”Thank you.” 

He looked a little embarassed. 

We went onto their house and Dean insisted on getting snack for us. Sam stayed right next to me the whole time I was there.

When Mr. Winchester came in, he said, “I wanted to talk to you about something. School will be out in a couple of weeks. I was wondering of you would be able to watch the boys during the day in the summer? Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to pay you much more.”

“I can do that.” I said. “I don't care about the money, I like being with the boys.” I said, smiling at Sam. 

Mr. Winchester put Sam down and he came over to me and hugged me.

“Yay! We get to spend the summer together!” he said happily. 

 

WEDNESDAY  
The boys both got off the bus and stood there, staring at me. 

“Why are you dressed up?” Sam asked.

“I'm going to an awards ceremony later, at the Middle School.”

“You got a award? For what?” Sam asked.

“Getting all As this year and being on the Honor Roll.” I told him.

“Oh. You look pretty in a dress.” Sam said.

“Yeah, you look nice.” Dean glanced up at me as we walked.

“Thanks.” I said. 

I got them a snack and sat in the kitchen with them as they ate and did their homework. “The school year is almost over.” I said. “I can't believe it.”

“We might move soon.” Dean said. 

“What do you mean?” I asked him. “I thought you were going to be here, your Dad asked me to watch you.”

Dean looked uncomforatble. “Well, sometimes we move in the summer, and travel around with my Dad while he's hunting...but we probably won't for a while.” 

“I don't want to move this time, I like it here!” Sam said in a whine.

“Never mind, I probably shouldn't have said anything,” Dean said. He wouldn't meet my eyes or Sam's eyes either. They finished their homework in silence, and then we went into the living room and watched cartoons.

When Mr. Winchester walked in, he said, “Look at you all dressed up. What's the occasion?” he asked.

“There's an awards ceremony at the Middle School, for kids that are on the Honor Roll.” I felt embarrassed telling him.

“Kate said she got straight As all year long!” Sam piped up.

“Wow, that's great.” Mr. Winchester said. “I bet your parents are proud.” 

“Yeah, I guess.” I said, trying not to sound bitter.

“Can we come to see you?” Sam asked.

“No, it's only for family. “

“Are your mom and dad gonna be there?” Dean asked.

“Um no, my father had to go to some emergency budget meeting with the comptroller or something.” I said, rolling my eyes. “Normally he loves this kind of stuff because it's a great photo--op for his next campaign.” 

“That's too bad.” Mr. Winchester said. “I'm sure there will be other ceremonies he'll be able to go to. You're probably going to be on the Honor Roll all throughout school.” he smiled at me. 

“I have to go.” I said. “I'm walking over to a friend's house and getting a ride with her.”

“Well, if you need a ride home, call me.” Mr. Winchester said. 

“Thanks.”

 

THURSDAY  
Tonight was the performance of the muscial that Sam was in. I made a quick dinner for them, pasta with meat sauce, and Mr. Winchester had gotten vegetables to make a salad. Dean didn't like salad, but he would eat carrot sticks, so I cut up some for him. I was surprised to find out that Sam actually liked salad. After Mr. Winchester came home and we ate, we drove over to the Elementary School.

We walked into the school and started to walk back to Sam's classroom. Mr. Winchester was holding the boy's hands. Sam took my hand too. The hallways were crowded with people and kids. As we walked, several kids said hi to Sam. We stopped at a classroom and went in. 

His teacher was a tall woman with dark brown hair. She smiled at us. “Hi, Sam.” she said. “Are you ready to sing?”

“Yeah!” Sam said excitedly. “Kate, come see my desk”! He took my hand and pulled me over to a group of desks on the side of the room. 

There was a nametag on the desk that said “Sam W.” 

He pointed to a wall near the desks, where there were kid's drawings stapled up. He pointed at one that had a couple of figures on it. “I drew that one.” he said proudly. “See, that's me and Dean and you on the front porch, and Daddy's getting out of his car!” There was a black car at the bottom of the drawing and another figure there.

“That's great, Sam.” I said. I felt flattered that he had included me.

His teacher came over. “You must be Kate.” she said. “Sam talks about you all the time.” She smiled at me. 

“He's a great kid.” I said. 

She turned around. “All right, parents, I need you to go to the auditorium. Students, go sit on the rug and I'll pass out the t-shirts.”

Sam went over and hugged his Dad and then me, and then we left the room.

As we walked back out to the front lobby, it became very crowded again.

“Dean.” Mr. Winchester said, “Hold my hand so we don't get separated.”

Dean took his hand and we walked forward. There was a huge crush of people by the front door and I felt someone take my hand. Mr. Winchester was holding it, and he caught my eye. “Don't want you to get lost either.“ he said.

He led us into the auditorium and we walked down one aisle and then the next, trying to find three seats together. 

We sat down and waited for the program to start. Eventually the classes walked in. The different classes were wearing different colored t-shirts, and each color represented an animal. Sam's shirt was green, and his class was frogs.

It was a musical about life in a swamp, and the whole large group sang some of the songs, and then each class sang a couple songs by themselves. When we were waiting for them to start, I saw Sam looking around. When he saw us, his face lit up, and he waved at us, grinning from ear to ear. 

“Sam sees us.” I told Dean, and we waved back.

The musical was very cute and the kids enjoyed singing it. There were several parts that were funny and had everyone laughing. At the end, the teacher dismissed each class to find their families in the audience. We stood up when Sam's class got dismissed and he came running over to us. 

Mr. Winchester bent down and picked him up. “Great job, Sammy!” he said proudly. “You were enjoying yourself.”

“It was fun”! Sam said with a smile.

“That was awesome, Sam. Thanks for inviting me,” I said.

“Now will you stop singing the songs all the time?” Dean asked.

“I heard you humming the frog one this morning!” Sam laughed.

Dean rolled his eyes. “I know, I can't get the dumb thing out of my head!”

“Can we go get ice cream now?” Sam looked at his Dad.

“Let's go.” Mr. Winchester put Sam down and we all took hands again.

We went to a restaurant that was known for their ice creams and desserts and waited for a booth. The waitress seated us and gave us menus. I was sitting next to Sam, as usual. 

“What are you going to get?” I asked him.

“Dad, can I get a banana split?” Sam asked.

“That might be too much for you to eat, Sammy. Is there a kid's size?” He looked at me. “Kate, what do you want?”

“You don't have to get me anything.” I said.

“We're all here for ice cream, get what you want.” he told me. 

Sam and I decided to share a banana split. 

After the waitress brought our ice cream we were all quiet, eating for a few minutes. 

An old lady walked by and stopped at the booth, looking at us. “You have a beautiful family.” she said to Mr. Winchester. “They're all so well behaved.” she smiled at him.

“Thank you.” he said, and smiled back at her. 

I looked over at Sam and he was grinning at me. “Another person who thinks you're our sister!” he said. “Daddy should just adopt you!” 

“It doesn't work that way, Sam.” I told him. “I have parents.” 

“You always say they're never home.” he said. “They don't even take care of you!”

“Sam, it's rude to talk about someone's parents like that.” Mr. Winchester scolded him.

“But it's true!” Sam said, frowning at his ice cream.

“Samuel. That's enough.” Mr. Winchester said sternly. 

“Umm, should I see if I can find stuff for us to do over the summer?” I asked, to break the tension.

“Like what?” Dean asked curiously.

“Well, I know that the library has a summer reading program and sometimes they have free movies, or programs like a magic show.” I told him. 

“How would we get there?” Dean said.

“It's not that far away from my house, I can check and see how long it would take us to walk there. If that's okay.” I looked at Mr. Winchester.

“Let me check into that, Kate. If it's on a main road, I don't feel comfortable with the three of you walking in an area like that. Maybe I can drive you over, depending on what time the programs are.” He said. 

FRIDAY  
When the bus doors opened, Sam was the only one who came off. 

“Where is Dean?” I asked him. 

“He got sick at school and Daddy had to come and get him. My teacher told me so that I wouldn't be scared riding the bus home by myself.” He told me.

“I'll walk you home.” I said. “I guess I won't need to watch you today then, since your Dad will be there.” 

Sam took my hand. “Yeah. Can you stay for a while?”

“Let's see how Dean is doing. If he's really sick then I probably shouldn't be there.”

We walked into the kitchen together. The first thing I noticed was that there were two large duffle bags on the floor. One of them was open and it looked like it had lots of weapons in it like different sized knives. 

There was a cloth spread out on the kitchen table, and a couple of guns were on the table. One of them had been taken apart. 

There was also a large leather-bound book open on the edge of the table. It looked like it had hand-written notes in it. I was curious, so I wallked over and looked at it. There was the word “CROCATTA” written across the top of the page, and then several paragraphs written underneath in small writing. 

Mr. Winchester walked into the kitchen. “Hey, Sammy!” he said, and Sam went to him like usual. He picked Sam up and hugged him. 

“Oh, Kate, what are you doing here?” he said, frowning a little.

“I walked Sam home so he wasn't by himself.” I said.

“I want her to stay, Daddy.” Sam said, looking at his father. “Can she?”

“No, Sam, Dean is sleeping and needs to rest. You need to find something quiet to do.” Mr. Winchester put Sam down and looked at me. “I was cleaning my guns and clearing out my car.” 

'I see.” I said. I noticed there were a bunch of small glass bottles on the counter filled with what looked like dried herbs and some bottles filled with clear liquid. It was odd. 

“Sam, I'll see you Monday. Tell Dean I hope he feels better.” I said.


	7. Chapter 7

SUMMER

The last week of school was just 3 days long. Wednesday was the last day, and we got out 2 hours early. When we walked to their house I was surprised to see Mr. Winchester's car parked outside.

“We're going away for a 4 day weekend.” Mr. Winchester told me. 

“We're going to go visit Uncle Bobby.” he said to the boys. 

Sam jumped up and down and said “Yay!”

“But you are coming back, right? I asked him. “Dean said something about you moving?”

Mr. Winchester looked at me. “I think we're going to stay put for a while.” he said. “We'll be back Monday.”

 

I hadn't realized how much of an impact the boys had had on my life. I missed seeing them, and I missed Sam's cheerfulness, and how he was always hugging me. My parents were rarely physically affectionate with me and besides that they were barely ever home, so I hadn't realized how nice it was when someone hugged you all the time. 

I spent a lot of time baking and a lot of time reading. I did walk to the circle on Thursday and Friday, and I hung out with the kids that were there, but it wasn't the same without the boys. It felt different to be alone in the house now, when I had been used to being with Sam and Dean every afternoon. 

 

We had planned for me to be at their house at 8 am. On Monday I walked to their house anxiously, as I had missed them a lot. As I came up the stairs the door opened and Sam came rushing out.

“Kate!” he yelled happily, flinging himself at me. 

I leaned down and caught him and picked him up. He wrapped his arms and legs around me in a tight hug, and I felt tears come to my eyes. I hugged him back and kissed the top of his head.

“I missed you!” he said.

“I missed you too, Sam!” I told him. I put him down and we went into the kitchen. 

Mr. Winchester was standing at the counter, scrambling eggs in a bowl. There was a pan of sausage sizzling on the stove already, and Dean was setting the table.

“Good morning, Kate!” Mr. Winchester smiled at me. “Do you want some scrambled eggs?” 

“Um, sure, if you're making them for everyone.” I said. I felt embarrassed, I wasn't used to anyone making me breakfast. My parents left at 5 AM and I usually just ate a bowl of cereal or an apple or something. 

“Sit next to me!” Sam led me to the table and I sat down. Dean got out a carton of orange juice and set it on the table. Then he put his arms around my shoulders and hugged me. I turned and hugged him back.

“I missed you guys a lot.” I said. “”Did you have fun?”

Mr. Winchester brought over a plate with a stack of toast on it. He set it on the table and squeezed my shoulder. “I think the boys missed you too, they talked about you non -stop.” 

“Uncle Bobby said he wants to meet you now!” Sam grinned at me.

“What did you guys do?” I asked him.

“We learned how to whittle!” Sam said. “I'm gonna make a magic wand.”

“Remember, no using the knives when I'm not here.” Mr. Winchester said sternly. “I mean it. If you do, you're going to be in serious trouble. We already had a talk about how careful you have to be.”

“I know, Dad.” Sam said. He looked at me. “What did you do?”

“Not much.” I said.” I read a couple books and I did a lot of baking.” 

“Ooh, what did you bake?”

“I baked some cookies, and I tried making bread, but it didn't turn out. The dough didn't rise enough and then it was all hard after I baked it. And I made coffee cake.”

Mr. Winchester came over with the pan of eggs and started serving everyone. “Sounds like you were busy.”

“I guess.” I said. “A lot of baking is waiting for stuff, waiting for the dough to rise, waiting for the cookies to be done, waiting for them to cool.”

He sat down and smiled at me. “I'd like to try your coffee cake, I'll bet it's good.”

“Is it cake made out of coffee?” Sam asked. “ 'Cause that sounds gross.”

Mr. Winchester and I laughed.

“No, it's like a bread with sugar and cinnamon on it, and you're supposed to eat it while you're drinking your coffee.” I told him.

“I want to try it too, then.” Sam said.

Mr. Winchester stood up and carried his plate over to the sink. He poured coffee into a silver metal travel mug and then came over to the table. “I've got to get to work.” he said. “Behave yourselves, boys.” He leaned over and gave them each a kiss on their heads.

“We will Dad.” Dean said.

“I'll see you this afternoon.” Mr. Winchester smiled at me and left for work.

When we finished eating, I helped Dean wash the breakfast dishes and then they went to get dressed. 

I walked into the living room and saw the odd book that I had seen before, on top of the tv. I went over and opened it. There were pages that looked like journal entries, but then there were also pages that looked like they were from a dictionary. There were pages that were written in Latin and pages with all sorts of strange symbols on them. I was really curious about it.

Dean came into the room. “That's my Dad's.” he said. “We're not allowed to look at it.”

“Oh.” I said, feeling embarrassed. “Sorry.” I wondered what it was for. 

He picked it up and said, “I'm gonna put it in his room.”

He and Sam came back into the living room at the same time.

“What should we do?” Sam asked.

“We could go down to The Circle and see who's there.” I said. “A lot of kids were there last week.”

We went to The Circle and sure enough there were a bunch of kids already hanging out.

Charlie came up to us. “Guess what!” he said excitedly. “My brother found a nest in one of the bushes at the stream, and the eggs hatched over the weekend! Wanna go see it?”

Dean and I looked at each other. I felt uncomfortable.

“Well, the boys aren't supposed to go there.” I said.

Sam tugged on my hand. “I want to go see the baby birds.” he said. “Pleeeease?” he wheedled.

“Sam, that's not a good idea.” I said. 

He stomped his foot and folded his arms and frowned at me. “We could just go for a second.” 

“No, Sam.” I said. “We're not going.”

He huffed in frustration and Dean said, “Remember what happened last time, Sam? Dad said if we went to the stream again--” he leaned over and whispered something in Sam's ear. Sam's eyes got wide for a moment, but then he shook his head and frowned again. “I want to see the baby birds.” he said petulantly.

“We're not going to go to the stream.” I said in a firm voice, looking at Sam. “And that's final.” 

He looked up at me, and I thought I saw hurt on his face, but then his face got mad. 

“Fine!” he snapped, and stomped away. 

I felt uncomfortable again. This was the first time that I had had to be that way with one of the boys. I wasn't used to it. I hoped that Sam didn't stay mad at me.

Dean touched my arm. “If he keeps being a jerk, I'll talk to him.”

“Okay. Thanks, Dean.” I said gratefully.

One of the boys had a soccer ball and Dean got involved with the kids that were kicking it around. Sam was on the sidewalk, drawing with sidewalk chalk with a couple of kids. I sat on the curb and watched, because I didn't want to risk getting hit with a ball again.

By lunchtime it was very hot. We walked back to their house and I made lunch for us. We decided to stay inside for the rest of the afternoon and watch cartoons. 

 

The next day I brought some games with me. A few years ago, when my father was trying to get re-elected, his campaign was all about “family values” and he and my mother had decided to have “Family Game Night”. She had gone out and bought a bunch of board games. The problem was, they were so rarely home in the evenings that we never had a chance to play any of them, so they sat on a shelf in the living room and collected dust.

“What are those?” Sam asked when I put the bag on the table.

'I brought a bunch of board games and puzzles over.” I said. “They don't get any use at my house.” I pulled the boxes out. 

“Wow, I haven't seen Parcheesi in a long time.” Mr. Winchester said. “You guys should have fun with these.” 

“We can play in the afternoon if it's too hot outside again.” I said. 

Mr. Winchester filled his travel mug with coffee and then kissed the boys and left for work. Dean and I cleaned up the dishes and then we went to The Circle. 

There were some girls trying to figure out how to play hopscotch, so I drew the board on the sidewalk with some chalk and then showed them how to play. I didn't realize how involved I had gotten until Dean came walking over and asked me, “Where's Sam?”

I looked around. “I haven't seen him.” I said. We walked around , looking in the back yards and side yards of the houses that were in The Circle. Sometimes kids went into each other's yards. He wasn't there. 

“Charlie's not here either.” I said. “Do you think they went to the stream?”

Dean frowned. “He better not have!” 

“I'll go check.” I said.

“I'm coming too.” Dean said decisively.

“No, you're not allowed to go. I don't want you getting into trouble also.” 

“I'm going there to look for Sam. Dad won't be mad about that.”

I sighed. “Okay, Dean, I hope not.” 

We walked down to the house at the end of the street and walked through the yards to get to the stream. We had to walk for a while before we started hearing voices. I saw three boys standing off to the side, in an area that had a bunch of overgrown bushes.

“Sam!” Dean called, hurrying over to the boys. Sam, Charlie, and another boy whose name I didn't know stood by a large, low bush. Sam looked guilty for a moment, then his face got defiant. 

Dean walked up to Sam and grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, then he swatted Sam's rear.

“Ow!” Sam yelled. “You can't spank me, Dean! You're not Dad!”

“I'm your big brother, and if you're doing something stupid or dangerous, then I'm gonna spank you!” Dean yelled back.

“I'm not stupid!” Sam pushed Dean. 

I walked over and stepped between them. “That's enough.” I said curtly. “Let's go home.” 

I turned to leave, and Dean said, “You go next, Sam.” 

They followed me single file until we got to the street. I glanced down at Sam. He still had an angry, defiant look on his face. I was upset with him. Why had he decided to do that? I should have been keeping a closer eye on him, but he knew he wasn't supposed to go to the stream. I felt uncomfortable. I knew I was going to have to tell his Dad, and then he was going to get into trouble again. Then I felt guilty. I didn't like knowing that I was going to have to “tell on” Sam. 

By the time we got into their house, Sam's face had changed from defiant to worried. He looked up at me. “Are you mad at me?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yes, I am.” I told him.

He swallowed and I saw his eyes get a little wet. “I'm sorry.” he said. “Are you gonna tell my Dad?”

“Yes, I have to.” I said. “I can't lie to him, that wouldn't be very responsible of me, and then he wouldn't trust me.”

Sam looked at me and then at Dean. “But- but- we could-”

“No, Sam.” Dean interrupted him. “You broke a rule and made me break the same rule because I had to come looking for you! What if we all get in trouble,” Dean gestured at me and then himself, “--just because you wanted to see some stupid baby birds?” 

“You didn't have to come after me!” Sam shouted at Dean.

Then I realized what Dean had said. What if Mr. Winchester got mad at me because Sam had snuck away? I started to get nervous. What if he fired me because of this? 

“I hope your Dad doesn't think I'm irresponsible because I wasn't watching you close enough, and then decides to fire me.” I said. 

Both boys looked at me with shocked faces. Then Dean got angry. “Go to your room!” he shouted, pushing Sam.

“You can't tell me what to do!” Sam yelled back.

“I think that's a good idea, Sam.” I said. “Go to your room for a little while.” 

Sam looked at me, and I could see tears in his eyes. He turned and walked out of the room. 

“This is Sam's fault, not yours.” Dean said to me. “Dad won't fire you.”

“Okay.” I said doubtfully. “I hope not.” 

We went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “Do you want to look at the games I brought?” I asked him.

I got out the games and Dean opened a couple of the boxes and read through the instructions. 

“These don't seem like much fun with only two people “ He said. 

“Yeah, it's better with more.” I said. “I'll go get Sam.”

I knocked on their bedroom door and opened it.

Sam was laying on his bed with the pillow balled up under his chin. I went over to his bed. He sat up suddenly and got up and threw his arms around my waist. “I'm sorry!” he sobbed. “I want you to keep being our babysitter.”

“I will.” I said. “At least I think I will.” 

He looked up at me. “I'm sorry.” he said again. “I'll listen to you better next time.”

I stroked his floppy hair back from his face and hugged him back. “Thank you, Sam.” I said. “Do you want some lunch, and then we can play one of the games I brought?”

He let go of me and wiped his face off. “Okay.” he sniffled. He followed me out to the kitchen. He walked over to Dean. “Sorry, Dean.” he said.

“You better tell Dad that this is all your fault, so Kate and me don't get in trouble.” Dean said. 

Sam sighed. “Okay, Dean, I will.” 

 

We were sitting at the table playing Parcheesi when Mr. Winchester came in.  
Sam didn't run up to him like he usually did. Mr. Winchester looked at us curiously. 

Sam stood up and said awkwardly, “Dad, I have to, um, tell you something.”

Mr. Winchester looked at him. “Okay.” he said., frowning slightly.

Sam looked at the ground. “I, uh, went to the stream today. By myself. Well, with Charlie and Jeff. Dean and Kate didn't go with me so they shouldn't get in trouble.” 

Mr. Winchester raised his eyebrows. “Is there more to this?” he asked. 

I explained, “Charlie told us yesterday that his brother had found a bird's nest at the stream and the eggs had hatched. Sam wanted to go see it, but I reminded him that they aren't allowed to go there, and told him we weren't going to go. Today we were at The Circle, and I was helping some of the kids with hopscotch, and Sam went to the stream on his own with the other boys. Dean noticed that he was gone.” I bit my lip because I could feel tears starting in my eyes. “I'm sorry I wasn't keeping a closer eye on Sam.” 

Mr . Winchester looked angry. “You deliberately broke a rule. And you disobeyed Kate after she told you not to go.” he said to Sam.

“And me and Kate went to the stream to go looking for him.” Dean said angrily.

“I told Dean not to come with me, but he insisted.” I said, then I realized that that might get Dean in trouble too. I bit my lip again. 

Mr. Winchester sighed. “All of you are grounded to the house for the rest of the week.” he said firmly. “Samuel, go to your room. I'll be in to deal with you shortly.” 

Sam sniffled and then turned and walked out of the kitchen. 

I took a deep breath and said again, “I'm sorry, Mr. Winchester-”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” he said. “Sam knows the rules, and he chooses to break them. He's always had a stubborn streak.” he sighed again. “We'll see you tomorrow.” 

I looked meaningfuly at Dean. He gave me a small smile and I patted his shoulder as I walked past him.

 

The next morning Sam was subdued. He came up to me and hugged me tightly and said, “I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. Daddy reminded me that I have to listen to you when he's not here.”

“Okay, Sam.” I said, hugging him back. “Thank for apologizing.”

Mr. Winchester beckoned me to follow him into the living room. I felt a little nervous. Was he going to scold me?

He turned to me and said, “I'm sure you were uncomfortable yesterday, I could tell when you were telling me what happened. But you did the right thing, Kate. I had a talk with both boys about making sure that they listen to you and keep following the rules when I'm not here, and I reminded them that you are their babysitter.”

I let out a breath that I didn't realize I'd been holding. 

“Okay.” I said. “Thanks, Mr. Winchester.”

He smiled at me. “You're a good influence on the boys. Don't let them push you around. And you know you can always talk to me if you're having any sort of problem with them.”

“Okay.” I said. 

“I've got to get ready to go.”

Since we weren't allowed to leave the house, we played board games for a couple hours, then tried to put together a 1000 piece puzzle. Sam eventually got frustrated with the puzzle and Dean got bored, so we put it away. Dean turned the tv on, and after flipping through the channels, he said, “There's nothing on.”

I took the remote and found a cooking channel. “I'll show you what I like to watch.” I said. “This is a neat show, the guy explains what's happening to the food as you are cooking it. It's like a combination of science and cooking. And he's funny.”

The boys both liked it and since there was a marathon of the show on, we watched it for the rest of the afternoon. I was happy that they liked a show that I liked.

We quickly fell into a routine. I would arrive at their house around 8 AM and Mr. Winchester would be making breakfast. We ate with him and then he left for work. Sometimes Dean slept in and didn't get up until after his Dad left. 

After we cleaned up and the boys got dressed, we would walk to The Circle and hang out with whoever happened to be there. It was usually really hot by the time it was lunch time, so we would stay inside in the afternoons and play board games. I found a couple decks of cards and we played with them too. 

 

The boys had gone outside right before their Dad got home to talk to one of the neighborhood kids. I walked in behind Mr. Winchester when he got home. He put a pot of water on to boil and got out another pot. 

I stood in the kitchen, feeling awkward. “ Um, Mr. Winchester--” I started. 

He turned towards me. “Yeah?” he said.

“Um, this is going to sound really strange, but...is there any way you can pick me up a gallon of milk and a carton of eggs tomorrow? I'll give you the money in the morning.” I shifted and stared at the table.

He looked confused. “Why do you need me to get them?” he asked. 

“Um, well, my parents are on a cruise for 18 days and I'm home by myself, and I ran out of milk and eggs and don't have any way of getting into town.”

“Your parents are on a cruise for eighteen days?”

“Yeah.” I cleared my throat nervously. 

“And they left you alone in your house for over two weeks.” he looked at me seriously.

“They left me some cash and we went on a huge shopping trip so I've got plenty of food. Except for the eggs and milk.” 

“Kate, that's not what concerns me. They left you unsupervised for eighteen days. What if something happened to you?” He seemed angry.

“I have the phone number of the ship and I can call my father's office and leave a message if I need to.”

He shook his head. “Kate, I'm not comfortable with this at all.” 

“I'm sorry.” I said, feeling nervous.

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” he said curtly. “Get me the phone number of the ship, please.” He looked at the stove and checked the water, then turned back to me. “I want you to stay here while they're away. I know you'll be here with the boys during the day, but I don't want you being alone in your house all night, every night. I'll call your parents and talk to them about it.”

“Um, okay...” I said slowly. “Are you sure?”

“I insist.” he said. Sam and Dean came into the house just then.

“What's Kate still doing here?” Dean asked.

“She's going to be staying with us while her parents are away.” Mr .Winchester told the boys.

“YAAAY!” Sam shouted, hugging me. “Spending the night too?”

“Yes.” Mr. Winchester said. He looked at me again. “Why don't you go home and pack some clothes and things. Dinner should be ready in about 30 minutes.”

“Okay.” I said.

“Don't forget to bring the phone numbers.”

“I won't.” I said. “Thanks, Mr. Winchester.”

He waved a cooking spoon in the air. “Don't mention it.”

I walked to my house and packed some clothes and books and a couple more board games that were sitting around. 

The table was set and they were just about to sit down to diner when I came in. I sat down with them.

“As far as sleeping arrangements go,” Mr. Winchester said, “You can sleep on the couch or I have an air mattress if you want. We don't have an extra bedroom.”

“Why can't she stay in our room?” Sam asked.

“Because she's a girl, dummy.” Dean said, poking Sam.

“I'm not a dummy!” Sam stuck his tongue out at Dean.

“Boys.” Mr. Winchester said. 

“We have 2 beds in our room, she can sleep in one and me and Dean can sleep in the other.” Sam said. “Pleeeeease?” 

“It's up to Kate.” Mr. Winchester said. “I don't know if she's going to want to be sleeping in the same room as two wild things.” 

“We're not wild!” Sam said. 

Mr. Winchester raised one eyebrow and scoffed. “Hmm, then it must be two other boys who get into trouble almost every night for getting riled up right before bedtime.”

“It's fine. “I said. “I don't mind sharing a room.”

“Are you sure?” Mr. Winchester asked. “All right, but boys, if Kate says she needs some alone time in there, you leave the room and let her be. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir.” they both mumbled. 

After dinner I helped Dean do the dishes and then went into the living room. Mr. Winchester was sitting on the sofa watching the news and Sam was snuggled up with him. I picked up the tote bag I had brought and took out the games. Sam sat up. “What are those?”

“More games from my house, I don't know if you guys would be interested.” I said. I put the boxes on the coffee table. Dean sat down at the coffee table and looked at them. “I've heard of Mono-poly” he said. “Let's play that!”

Mr. Winchester sat forward. “That's kind of complicated. I don't know if Sam would understand it.” 

“Pleeease, Daddy, I want to try!” Sam bounced on the sofa. 

“Let's you and I play together the first time so that you can see how the game works” Mr. Winchester said to Sam. Sam agreed.

I set up the board and Mr. Winchester said he would be the banker. It took a few minutes for Dean to understand, but then he got the hang of the game and in no time at all he was buying properties left and right and putting houses on them. We played for about 2 hours and then Mr. Winchester said it was time for the boys to go to bed. 

“What about Kate?” Sam asked.

“I'm sure she goes to bed later than you, Sammy, she's older.”

“I usually go to bed around 10 o' clock.” I said. 

“That's not fair!” Sam said.

“Don't start that, Sam.” Mr. Winchester said warningly. “Everything cannot always be the same for everyone. You and Dean go get ready.” The boys got up and we put the game back in the box. 

A few minutes later, there was furtive giggling coming from the bathroom. Mr. Winchester walked to the bathroom and opened the door.

“Boys--” I heard him say. “What is this? How in the world did you get toothpaste at the top of the mirror? Clean this up right now! Sam, stop jumping.”

He came back into the living room and said, “Now is the time for the nightly bedtime shenanigans. You'll see what I mean.” 

He sat down on the sofa and closed his eyes. I heard the boys talking as they went into their bedroom and the sound of drawers being opened and closed. And then, “Hey! I don't want your stinky socks!” and more giggling. 

“Boys, there better not be clothes all over the floor when I come in there.” Mr. Winchester called, and Dean answered, “Yes sir.” 

They came into the living room and Dean said, “We're ready.” Mr. Winchester followed the boys into the bedroom.

“Kate come too!” Sam called, so I followed and sat down on Dean's bed. 

“I want to be on the outside.” Sam said. “I don't want to be next to the wall.”

“I called it earlier.” Dean said. 

“No faaaaair!” Sam whined. He got on the bed and tried to push Dean off, where he was sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Quit it, Sam!” Dean pushed him back.

“BOYS!” Mr. Winchester said loudly. “Settle down., now. ” he sighed. “Dean sleeps on the outside tonight and tomorrow night, Sam can sleep on the outside.”

“But--” Sam started, and Mr. Winchester held up his hand. 

“No, Sam, I've decided, and that's how it's going to be.” He sat down on the bed. “Are we reading tonight?” 

Dean got off the bed and walked over to his bed and took a book off of the shelf above the bed and handed it to his father. Sam took the opportunity to scoot over onto the edge of the bed. Dean stood next to the bed and put his hands on his hips. “MOVE, Sam.” he said. 

Mr. Winchester had opened the book, but he set it down on the bed. 

“Samuel, this is your last warning.” he said seriously. He gave Sam a look. Sam moved over on the bed and crossed his arms, pouting. Mr. Winchester opened the book and started reading aloud. He was reading 'The Mouse and the Motorcycle' by Beverly Cleary to the boys. He read a few pages out loud and then closed the book.

“All right.” he said. “Time for sleep. Good night, boys.” he stood up and hugged and kissed them. Sam motioned to me, opening his arms. “Kate too!” he said, so I walked over and hugged and kissed them both.

I followed Mr Winchester out of the room and he left the door ajar. We sat back on the sofa and he looked at me.

“Do you have any shows you like to watch?” He asked.

“I like a couple of cooking shows, but I usually read at night.” I took a book out of my other bag. He bent his head to look at the cover. “Stephen King.” he said. He chuckled. “That's a little different from Jane Austen and the Brontes.”

“It's summertime.” I said. “This is a little more fun to read.”

He nodded. Just then we heard the boys talking. He rolled his eyes and called, “Boys, settle down in there!” He looked at me. “I'm probably going to have to talk to them at least 2 more times.” he said. He turned on the tv and flipped through the channels until he found a baseball game. 

At one point there was no sound from the tv as the show switched to a commercial, and we could hear talking from the boy's room. Mr. Winchester got up and went to their bedroom. 

“No. More. Talking.” I heard him say. “I mean it. If I have to come in here again, things are going to get uncomfortable.”

He went into the kitchen. I heard the fridge door open and he came into the living room with a bottle of beer. I started watching a tv show with him. When it was over, I sat up and said, “I'm going to go to bed now.”

I got my pajamas and toothbrush out of my suitcase and put my book inside it.   
“Good night, Mr. Winchester. And thanks again for letting me stay here.”

“Good night, Kate.” he said. I changed my clothes in the bathroom and went into the boy's bedroom. When I sat down on the bed, Sam sat up and grinned at me. I pointed at his bed and mouthed, “Lay down.” I didn't want him to get in trouble. I got under the covers and tried to go to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

In the morning, I heard the boys talking and that woke me up. I opened my eyes and Sam was sitting up in the other bed. He clambered off and ran over to my bed and jumped on it, bouncing next to me.

“Good morning, Kate!” he said happily. 

“Morning, Sam.” I yawned. “How do you have so much energy?” 

Dean stretched in bed and said, “You better not kick me all night tonight, Sam.”

Sam turned toward Dean. “Well you better not hog all the covers!” he retorted.

“Let's go see if your Dad is up.” I said, to prevent them from bickering further. We went to the kitchen. Mr. Winchester was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. He set the paper down when we came in and looked at us. 

“Good morning, you three.” he said. “Don't you look bright eyed and bushy tailed.” 

“I don't have a tail!” Sam giggled, hugging his father. Mr. Winchester patted Sam's bottom. “This is your tail.” he said. Sam turned his head and looked down. “My butt's not bushy!” he said, and laughed again. 

Mr .Winchester ruffled Dean's hair as he stood up. “Who wants scrambled eggs?” He looked at me. “Kate? You in?” He reached over and patted my shoulder.

“Sure, thanks.” I said. I still wasn't used to someone else making food for me. Mr. Winchester started some toast and Dean got out a carton of orange juice and set the table. Mr. Winchester served us and then poured coffee in his silver metal travel mug. “I need to leave.” he said. 

He leaned down and kissed each boy on the top of the head. “Behave yourselves today.” he said.

“We will Dad.” Dean said. 

Dean and I washed the dishes like we had been doing in the mornings.. Then I went to get changed. I carried my suitcase into the bedroom and set it on the bed. I took out some clothes and my book, then I closed the door. As I was pulling off my pajama top, the door opened. Sam stood there, looking shocked.

“Sam, close the door! Don't you knock?” I yelled in a panic, turning my back to him. 

He slammed it shut. I changed quickly and then hurried out to the living room. I sat next to him on the sofa.

“Sam, I'm sorry I yelled at you.” I said. His head was down and he looked at me sideways. I could see tears in his eyes. 

“You startled me is all.” I explained. “Of course you wouldn't knock, it's your bedroom. From now on I'll get changed in the bathroom.”

“Or we could say if you're in the bedroom with the door closed then we have to knock.” Dean said.

“Okay.” I agreed. “Think you can remember that?” They nodded, and I hugged Sam. 

 

 

We went to the Circle in the afternoon and a couple of the boys were throwing a baseball around. Dean got involved with them for a while. 

“Hey, do you want to hit some balls in my back yard?” Jake asked. “I've got a couple extra gloves and bats, and my back yard is big.”

We went with Jake, his brother Jesse, Tim, and Tommy to Jake's house. It was on the other end of my street, the opposite side of the cul-de-sac.

Jake got out some frisbees he used as bases and set up a small baseball diamond. He stood in the middle and was the pitcher. He patiently showed Dean, Sam, and Tommy how to swing the bat and hit the ball, and the boys let them practice for a little bit.

Then Jake looked at me. He held out a bat to me. “You want to try?” he asked.  
“You're probably bored stiff over there.”

“Try it, Kate.” Dean said.

“Yeah, try it!” Sam chimed in.

I walked over and took the bat, and Jake talked me through how to hold and swing it. The he walked over to the pitcher's mound. He threw the ball, and I swung the bat. The ball sailed over the fence into the neighbor's yard.

Jake gaped at me. “You just hit it over the fence! That would have been a home run!”

Tim vaulted the fence and got the ball, came back and tossed it to Jake.

“Let's see if that was beginner's luck.” Jake said. He threw, I swung, and once again the ball ended up in the other yard. Tim went and got the ball, and Jake pitched it a third time, and I hit it again. We did this a few more times and I consistently hit the ball.

“Dang, Kate, you've never played before?” Tim asked. 

“Nope, never.” I said.

“You've got a really good eye.” Jake said. “You should think about playing baseball. If you joined my team, you'd totally be the secret weapon.”

“Thanks.” I said, feeling shy and happy. I was really not into sports, so this was something of a surprise.

They set up the yard for playing the game, with people on each base, and we would take turns hitting the ball and then walking to a base to let someone else have a turn. Jake and his brother had a rivalry going on, and Jake kept trying to strike Jesse out. Jesse kept trying to hit the ball at Jake. 

They had started to yell at each other good-naturedly and tease each other. Jake wound up his arm and threw the ball and it veered off to the left and went into the neighbor's yard. We heard the tinkle of glass breaking, and we all stood there for a moment in shock.

“Shit!” Jake said under his breath. He jogged over to the fence.

An elderly lady with curly gray hair came out onto the back steps of the house in the next yard. She glared at Jake, hands on her hips.

“Jacob Jackson, what did I tell you was going to happen the next time a ball of yours came into my yard?!” she shouted in a rough-sounding voice.

“I'm sorry, Mrs. Green, it was an accident.” he said.

“That's what you always say! I've told you and told you about playing your sports in the back yard!” She pointed at him accusingly.

We walked over to stand with Jake to let him know he wasn't alone.

“I'll pay to fix your window. My dad can come over this evening and do it.” Jake said in a reasonable-sounding voice.

“Damn straight he better! I'm calling him at work to let him know what his incorrigible son did!”

“Please don't call him at work, Mrs. Green. I'll tell him when he gets home.”

“Don't tell me what to do, sonny. I told you I was going to call him the next time this happened. In fact, I'm calling all of your parents, because you should all be punished!” She glared at all of us, scanning our faces. Her eyes came to rest on me.  
“Who are you?” she demanded. “I don't know you.”

“She lives on the other block of Forest Avenue, Ma'am.” Jake said.

“What are you doing hanging out with these-- delinquents? Do you like the loud music and fast cars too? You should go home to your mother and help her cook dinner, girlie, before one of these boys gets you into trouble!”

“It's not anyone's fault but mine.” Jake said. “I asked them to come over, and I'm the one that threw the ball. I told you, I'll pay to fix your window out of my own money.”

“I'm still going to call everyone's parents!” she snapped. “And I'm keeping the baseball too.” She turned and walked into her house, grumbling under her breath.

“Damn, I've got to go call my dad before she does.” Jake said. “C'mon inside.” We followed him into the kitchen.

“Jesse, give them something to drink.” Jake said. He walked over to a wall mounted phone and made a phone call. 

Jesse got out bottles of Gatorade for all of us and handed them around. We stood awkwardly in the kitchen listening as Jake talked to his father. 

“Mr. Jackson please.” he waited a moment. “Hi Dad, it's Jake. Listen, uh, we were playing baseball in the backyard, and I accidentally broke one of Mrs. Green's windows. Yeah, she came out and reamed me. I told her I'd pay to fix it and you'd come by tonight. Sorry. I'm sorry! She, uh, also said she was going to call all the parents, because she thinks all the kids here should get into trouble. Uh, Tim, Tommy, the Winchester boys, and Kate.” Jake looked at me. “What's your last name, Kate?”

“It doesn't matter, my parents aren't home.” I told him.

He frowned at me. “They aren't?”

“No, I'm staying with the boys.” I said. 

“Oh. Oh wait, your dad is a politician, isn't he?” 

He spoke into the phone again. “Dad, Kate's dad is a politician. Don't let Mrs. Green know or she'll have a field day with it. Could you call Mr. Winchester and let him know that she may try to call him? Okay...thanks, Dad. Bye.”

He hung up the phone and exhaled a big breath. “She's such a nosy old biddy. She hates living next to a house full of boys. Any time we play our music, no matter how low the volume is, she complains.” He looked at me again. “My Dad has taken his car to Mr. Winchester's shop a couple times for work, so he'll call him and warn him of the potential biddy attack.”

“She's just upset 'cause she watches you mow the lawn with your shirt off, and she wants your hot bod.” Tim said, smirking at Jake.

“Eww, shut up!” Jake said. He said to me, “And oh my gosh, if she found out your father was in politics she'd never leave him alone. She's always threatening to report people about all this random stuff, people that have outdoor cats, people who leave their trashcans at the curb all day, people who leave their Christmas lights up later than January.”

“She has nothing to do but sit home and complain about everything.” said Jesse. “And make everyone around her miserable.”

Jake sighed. “I'm probably going to be grounded for a while, or have to do a bunch of chores at her house. So I guess I'll see you guys in a couple weeks!” 

“We should probably go.” I said. “Thanks for the drinks, and showing us how to play.”

“Yeah, Kate, you should really think about baseball. Practice some more, you'll only get better.”

“Maybe...” I said. We walked home quietly, drinking our Gatorades.

When we got into their house, Sam asked, “Why are some people mean like that?”

“I don't know, Sam. Some people are like that from the get go and some people turn mean when they get older, because of stuff that's happened. It's best just to stay away from them.” I told him.

“I'd hate to live next door to her!” Dean said.

“Me too.” I agreed. 

I got them carrot sticks and dip for a snack and we sat at the table and ate.   
“Wow, Kate, you were amazing!” Dean said. “I didn't know you could hit a baseball like that!”

I felt myself blushing. “I was just as surprised as you, Dean.” I said. “I had no idea either!” 

We heard Mr. Winchester's car and Sam ran to him when he came in. He picked Sam up for a hug and asked us, “What's this I hear about you kids upsetting an old lady?”

“Jake's Dad called you?” Dean said.

Mr. Winchester put Sam down. “Yes, he called me and told me that his neighbor is a cranky old woman who looks for problems and likes to complain. He said he would talk to her about it, but if she calls here, I'll deal with it.”

“Are we in trouble, Dad?” Sam asked, looking up at him.

Mr. Winchester shook his head. “No, Jake explained that he was the one who threw the ball, and he took the blame. None of you were at fault.”

“Kate is really good at hitting baseballs!” Sam said.

“Is that so?” He looked at me. “Have you ever played before?'

“No, I'm not into sports at all.” I said. 

“She hit every single ball that Jake pitched, most of them went into the neighbor's yard” Dean told him.

“Really? That's great. You going to keep with it?”

I shrugged, feeling myself blush again. “That may be the only thing I can do. I'm usually very klutzy.” 

 

 

That night at bedtime both boys got swatted for having a water fight while they were brushing their teeth; Sam got so wet that he had to change his pajamas. Then they got swatted again because Mr. Winchester caught them trying to jump from one bed to the other; Dean managed it once but Sam fell short and fell onto the floor and bumped his head.

I sat on Dean's bed again and listened to their dad read a few more pages of the book. When he finished, he stood up and said, “You've both already gotten in trouble twice tonight. You know that three strikes and you're out, boys. One more time, and you're going to end up getting more than a swat. Is that clear?”

They both mumbled “Yessir.” and he hugged and kissed them. I did too, and I whispered them, “Go to sleep so that you don't get into any more trouble!” 

 

 

Ten o'clock came and went. I was curled up at the end of the sofa reading.

“Kate,” Mr. Winchester said. “It's past 10 o' clock, aren't you going to go to bed?”

“I just want to finish this chapter.” I said. “It's getting to a really good part.”

Mr. Winchester looked at me for a long moment, then he started to watch the news. The 11:00 news came on and he looked at me again. 

“Did you finish the chapter?” he asked. 

“Yeah.” I said. “This is a really great book.”

“I'm sure it is, but you should go to bed and get some sleep.”

“I will.” I said absently, still deep in my book. 

At 11:30 the news ended. He turned off the tv and sat forward. 

“Come on, Kate.” he said. “I'm going to bed, you should too. It's pretty late.”

I sighed. “Okay.” I said. I got up and went to get ready in the bathroom. After I had brushed my teeth and gotten changed, I went into the boy's room and turned on the little bedside lamp next to the bed. The boys were sound asleep. I wanted to read a little bit more.

A few minutes later the door opened and Mr. Winchester leaned in. He looked surprised when he saw me reading. He walked over to me. “Kate, I thought you were going to go to sleep.” he said.

“Yeah, I will.” I said, focused on my book. 

“I don't want you to be too tired to take care of the boys tomorrow.” he said. “Come on, lights out.” He stood there looking down at me. 

I felt annoyed, but I tried not to show it. I just wanted to read a little bit longer! 

I sighed again and put the bookmark in the book and put it on the bedside table.  
I laid on my back and he leaned down, pulling the covers up to my shoulders and tucking them around me. Then he straightened, looking embarassed. “Sorry, force of habit. It's what I automatically do with the boys. Good night, Kate.”

“That's okay.” I said, yawning. “Good night.” It was kind of nice, my parents hadn't tucked me in in years and hadn't been home when I went to bed in a long time either. I reached over and turned off the bedside lamp and he left the room.

 

I had the dream again. When I was younger, I would sometimes dream that I would come home from school and walk into my house, and my parents would act like they didn't know who I was and would tell me that I was not their child. Sometimes I would dream that I came home from school and they had moved away without telling me, and the house was empty.   
This time I dreamed that I was running on a wooden dock, towards a boat, and there were crowds of people waving goodbye, and I could see my parents on the deck of the boat, and I tried to wave my arms and call to them as the boat started to leave, but they turned away. At the last minute, I realized that they had seen me calling for them, and they had turned away anyway.

“Kate.” someone said. “Kate!” I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me. I opened my eyes and sat up. My face was wet with tears. 

Dean was standing by my bed, looking scared and worried. Sam was sitting up in the other bed with the covers were pulled up to his chin. He looked scared. 

“What were you dreaming about?” Dean asked. 

“You were making funny noises.” Sam said.

The bedroom door opened and Mr. Winchester came into the room.

“What's the matter?” he asked. “I thought I heard someone crying.” He looked over at me. “Kate, are you okay?” 

His voice was concerned, and I opened my mouth to say something, but instead I burst into tears. I covered my face with my hands, embarrassed to be crying in front of them. 

I felt the bed dip slightly and then Mr. Winchester put his arm around me and hugged my shoulders. “What were you dreaming, hmm?” he asked gently. “Sometimes it helps to talk about it.”

“Sometimes I dream that my parents have left and moved away without telling me, or something like that. I dreamed that they were leaving on a boat and I was trying to get their attention and they were ignoring me.” I said in a rush. I lowered my head and tried to get myself together and stop crying. 

“Those dreams sound very lonely.” he said. 

“But I'm used to being alone, and I like it.” I said.

“I think you're trying to deal with your parents leaving you for so long. Even if you like being alone, 18 days is an awfully long time for someone to be by themselves.”

Sam had walked over to the bed, and he put his hand on my arm. “You're not alone now, Kate.” he said. “And while you're here you can be part of our family. Me and Dean will be your brothers and Daddy will be your Dad.”

I looked at him and smiled. “Thanks, Sam.” I said gratefully. I turned toward him and he hugged me. Then Dean leaned over and hugged me. 

“Thanks.” I said again. “Sorry I woke you up.”

“That's okay.” Dean said.

“Back to bed, boys.” Mr. Winchester said. “Are you going to be able to go back to sleep?” he asked me, looking at my face. He stood up.

“Yeah. Thanks.” I wiped my face off with my hands. 

The three of us laid down again and although it took me a while, I eventually fell asleep listening to the boy's deep breathing.

 

  
The next day I told the boys that we were going to go to my house and bring back some of the food that my parents had bought. I packed a few bags of food and then grabbed some other stuff like cookie cutters and a couple of my cook books. We took everything back to their house and I put it away in the kitchen.

I got out a couple of bowls and the measuring cups and spoons.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked, leaning on the table.

“We're going to make home made play dough.” I said. “I brought some food dye too so we could dye it different colors.” 

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“Well, we make it out of flour, which is white. So we can add dye to it and make it whatever color we want.”

“Cool!” Sam said.

I gave a bowl to each of them and took one for myself. Then I told them how much flour to measure out and how much salt to add. I got a cup of warm water from the sink and added it little by little to each bowl. 

“It's okay to mix it by hand.” I said.

“This feels weird!” Sam said, squishing the damp flour in his hands. “It's fun!”

“What color do you want yours to be?” I asked him. He picked blue, and Dean picked green. I picked red. After the play dough was mixed properly I got the bag with all the cooking tools and dumped it on the table. 

“Here's a couple of rolling pins and cookies cutters and stuff. Go to town.”

The boys sat for close to 2 hours playing with the playdough. I played with it a little bit too, but I mostly watched them and talked to them while they made stuff.

“Can we eat it?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, you can. I'm sure it doesn't taste good though, it's just flour and salt.” I said.

“Dean, I dare you to eat some!” Sam said, with a mischievous grin on his face.

Dean looked at us and grinned, raising his eyebrows. He picked up a hunk of play dough and took a bite out of it.

“Eeeeww!” Sam said, laughing. 

Dean chewed it and swallowed it.

“Dean, I was going to say, you can spit it out!” I laughed.

“How did it taste?” Sam asked.

“Salty.” Dean said. “Now you eat some, Sam.”

Sam picked up a piece and nibbled it. He spit it out after a moment. “Ew, yuck! That is gross !”

I laughed again. “You guys are too funny.” I said.

Dean looked at me. “Now you try it!”

“No, I've eaten real play dough before.” I said. “I already know how it tastes.” 

“You ate play dough before?” Sam asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, when I was in kindergarten. I was curious, so I tried some when the teacher wasn't looking.”

They both laughed at that. I laughed with them. I felt really happy, and like I belonged here. It was a nice feeling. 

 

I got up while they were still playing with the play dough and started making dinner. 

“What are you making?” Sam asked me.

“It's called Beef Stroganoff.” I told him, chopping up an onion. 

“What is it?” 

“It's beef with onions and mushrooms in a thick sauce. You eat it over noodles.”

“Oh. I like noodles!” 

They started to get a little bored with the play dough, so I helped them clean up everything and put the dough into some plastic baggies. They went to watch cartoons for a while. 

Mr. Winchester came in a short time later. 

“Wow, something smells really good.” he said. “What are you making?”

“Beef Stroganoff.” I told him. “I went to my house today and brought back a bunch of the food that my parents bought for me while they're away. I figured we might as well eat it, right? If would be a shame if all the meat they got went bad.”

“As long as you're cooking it and not me.” he said. “I have no idea how you go about making Beef Stroganoff.” 

Sam came running out to the kitchen and jumped on Mr. Winchester. Mr. Winchester hugged him and them said, “Why don't you give setting the table a try tonight.”

“Okay.” Sam said. “Can I ask Dean to show me how?”

“It's pretty simple, but okay.” said Mr. Winchester. Sam went into the living room and didn't come back. A couple minutes later Mr. Winchester went into the living room. I heard him say, “Sam, I thought you were coming in here to ask Dean for help, not sit down and watch cartoons.”

“I wanted to finish watching this episode!” Sam said. “We have to find out what happens to He-Man!”

“When it's over, I want you in the kitchen setting the table, you hear me?”

“Yes sir.” Sam said, sounding glum. In a few minutes, he and Dean walked into the kitchen and Dean asked me to get the plates out of the cabinet. I put them on the table for him and he showed Sam where to put the utensils and everything. 

“Dinner will be ready in a couple minutes.” I said. They went to wash their hands and then sat down at the table. Mr. Winchester came in and asked if he could help with anything. I gave him a bowl of green beans and then set the noodles and the Stroganoff on the table. 

I sat down at the table, yawning.

Sam looked uncomfortable. ''That looks yucky.” he said.

“Samuel, that is very rude!” Mr. Winchester scolded, frowning at him. “We've talked about this before. You don't say things like that to people.”

Sam bowed his head and I saw tears on his eyelashes. “Sorry.” he whispered.

“It's okay,” I said, patting Sam's arm. “My mother made it with tomato sauce once, instead of beef broth, and the sauce was pink ! It looked really weird!” I laughed, “I didn't want to eat it at first.” I yawned again.

“I still expect both of you boys to try it.” Mr. Winchester said.

Dean speared a small piece of meat with his fork and brought it up to his mouth. He waited for a moment and then put the fork in his mouth and chewed the meat. 

He frowned for a moment, and then his face relaxed. “This is pretty good.” he said.  
He leaned over to Sam. “Sam, it looks gross, but it actually tastes good!”

“Dean!” Mr. Winchester admonished, but I just laughed. 

“At least he's being honest!” I said. “It is kind of weird looking!”

Mr. Winchester chuckled after a moment. 

Sam tried a small piece too, and said, “It's okay.” 

“If you cut the meat up into smaller pieces and mix it with the noodles, it looks a little better.” I said, stifling a yawn.

“I think it looks fine, and it tastes great.” Mr. Winchester said. 'Thank you for making dinner, Kate, it's nice to come home and not have to cook.”

“No problem.” I said. “I enjoy cooking.”

“When can we make some more cookies?” Sam asked.

“How about we can look through the cook books I brought tonight, and then do some baking tomorrow.” I told him.

“Yeah, let's do that!” Sam beamed at me.

 

The 10 o clock news came on and Mr. Winchester looked at me. “You should go to bed now.” he said.

“I'm okay, I'm almost finished this.” I held my book up.

“Kate, I don't think you should stay up late reading tonight.” he said.

“I'll be fine.” I said absently, still reading.

“Sam told me you looked sleepy today. And you were yawning a lot at dinner. It's obvious that you're tired. You need sleep.”

“I just have three more chapters to go.” I said. “I really want to finish it tonight.” 

He sat up and looked at me seriously. “You can read til 11, then it's lights out.” he told me. “And if you're the same way tomorrow, then you will need to go to bed earlier tomorrow night. Is that clear?”

I felt annoyed that he was telling me what to do. I wanted to say, “Okay, geez!” but he leaned forward and raised his eyebrows, looking at me with a stern look on his face. I got a little nervous.

“Yes sir.” I said quietly, looking down at my lap.

At 11, he looked over at me. I closed my book and stood up. I didn't want to make him angry and I certainly didn't feel brave enough to defy him. 

“Good night, Mr. Winchester.” I said. 

“”Good night, Kate.” he said. “Sleep well.”

I got changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth, then got into bed. I was kinda tired, so I put the book on the bedside table and told myself I would finish it tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

When we went to The Circle the next morning, the kids were all standing around talking. One of the girls that lived near Jake had gotten sick and been rushed to the hospital.

“Her Dad told my Dad that she's in a coma, and the doctors don't know why.” Jake said.

“What's a coma?” Sam asked.

“It's like a person is asleep all the time and they can't wake up.” Jake told him. 

“That's really scary.” Said Jenny, one of the girls who lived in one of the houses on The Circle. “I hope she gets better soon.”

“I guess we'll find out later. I think her mom is staying at the hospital the whole time.”

We didn't feel much like staying there after that, not many of the kids did, so we went back to their house.   
“Let's make some cookies.” I said. “And we can take them to Lauren's family.”

“Okay. Can we make some for us to eat too?” Sam asked.

“Of course!” I said. “You wanted to make chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles again, right?”

“Yeah!” Sam agreed. We had looked through my cookbooks last night.

 

I got out bowls, measuring cups and spoons, and then the flour and sugar and other ingredients. Sam picked up the bag of chocolate chips. 

“I think we need to taste-test some of these before we put them in the cookies.” he said with a grin.

I smiled at him. “We can eat some. Just make sure there's enough to put in the cookies.”

“Hey, Dean! Want some chocolate chips?” Sam called to him. Dean was watching cartoons in the living room. He came into the kitchen.  
'There's chocolate chips?”

“For the cookies.” I told him. “We can each have a little bit.”

“Cool!” he said. I opened the bag and gave them each a little handful of chips. 

I told Sam what to measure and let him measure out and pour the dry ingredients, then I cracked the eggs into the bowl. When they were mixed it I let Sam pour the chocolate chips in. Sam mixed the dough until it got too hard for him and then I took over. I got out the cookie sheets and put them on the table.

“Do we roll this into balls too?” he asked.

“No, this dough is too wet.” I said. “We put it on the cookie sheets with spoons.” 

I showed him how to pick up some of the dough with a spoon and then use another spoon to get the dough off, but he couldn't get the hang of it. I put the chocolate chip cookies on the cookie sheets and slid them in the oven. 

When we were done with them, I started to mix the ingredients for the snickerdoodles. Both boys helped me roll the dough into balls like we did before.

 

By the time we were finished with everything, Mr. Winchester was walking in the door. Sam ran to him for a hug.

“It smells like a bakery in here.” Mr. Winchester said.

“We made two different kinds of cookies, Dad!” said Sam. “Guess what? One of the girls who lives on the street is in the hospital!” 

He looked curious. “What happened?”

“Jake said she's in a coma.” I told him.

“Hmm.” he said. “That's too bad. I hope she comes out of it soon.”

 

After dinner, Mr. Winchester walked to Lauren's house to take some cookies over to her family.   
“I dropped the cookies off.” he told us when he came home. “The doctors aren't sure what made Lauren go into a coma, but they think it might be a type of pneumonia.”

“What's that?” asked Sam. 

“It's an illness where you have fluid in your lungs that makes it hard to breathe.” Mr. Winchester said. 

 

That night, I read until about 10:30. Mr. Winchester cleared his throat and said, “Kate, I want you to go to bed now.”

“I'm fine.” I said.

“This is the third night you've stayed up late and remember, you were tired yesterday.” He sat forward and gave me a stern look. “Don't argue with me please.”

“Okay.” I sighed, closing my book and getting up. I was annoyed. I wanted to read until I was done, and I didn't want him telling me what to do. I got my pajamas out of the bedroom, and went into the bathroom. I accidentally shut the door too hard, though. After I had gotten ready for bed, I opened the door. Mr. Winchester stood there, arms crossed over his chest. “Are we going to have a problem, Kate?” he asked, staring me down. 

I looked at the floor after a moment. ''Uh, no, I didn't mean to close the door like that, sorry.”” I said nervously. 

“Hmm.” He raised his eyebrow. “I'm going to check on you in a few minutes, and I want you to be sleeping and not reading, is that clear?”

“O-okay.” I said, feeling embarrassed. I went into the bedroom, put my clothes in my suitcase, and got into bed. I briefly considered getting my book out, but it seemed like Mr. Winchester was getting angry and I didn't want to push things. I was almost asleep when I heard the door open slightly.

 

 

We went to the Circle the next morning and the kids were standing around and talking again. Lauren's sister had gotten sick and been rushed to the hospital too. Someone said that they heard that kids a couple streets over had gotten sick too. 

Jenny, who lived in a house on the circle, said, “Hey, I've got tadpoles! Who wants to come see?” She led us to her back porch, which was screened in. In a large glass bowl, there were several small black tadpoles swimming around. 

“Where did you get them?” Tommy asked.

“From back there.” she pointed behind her house.

“What's back there?” Dean asked her.

“The stream runs by there, there's a really deep part. Want to go look at it?”

Dean looked at me uneasily. “Uh-”

“It's part of the stream,” I said. “We shouldn't.”

“Why not?” Jenny asked.

“We're not allowed to go to the stream.” Sam said mournfully.

“All the parents don't want the kids to go to the part of the stream where the teenager hang out because of all the trash and stuff.” Jenny said. 'This is different. There's no trash back there because we keep it clean and all. C'mon, there's a ton of tadpoles in this one area! You guys could probably take some home too.”

“Can we?” Sam asked excitedly.

“We shouldn't.” Dean said. “ 'Cause then we'd have to tell Dad where we got them and he might get mad.”

“We probably shouldn't go.” I said. “It is still the stream.”

“Yeah, but your dad didn't say you couldn't go to different parts of it. Look, it's in our yard. It's fine.”

“C'mon!” Tommy called, running down the steps. “I'm tired of waiting!” 

Sam followed him, and then the other kids followed them. I walked behind them, feeling uncertain. It was at the very back of her yard, but it was also the stream.

I forgot feeling uncomfortable when I saw the part of the stream with the tadpoles. Part of it had been blocked off by some rocks and sticks, forming a large puddle, and there was probably close to 100 tadpoles in the puddle. 

“Watch!” Jenny said, and she put her hand in the puddle. All the tadpoles swam around her hand. The younger kids laughed, and then they all wanted to do that too. 

Tommy said, “I want to take some tadpoles too!” 

“Go get a bowl or something.” Jenny told him.

“I wish we could take some.” Sam said.

“We can't.” Dean said. “And we can't tell Dad about this either, Sammy, I mean it.”

“Okay, Dean.” Sam said.

 

 

That afternoon Mr. Winchester called us and told us that he was going to the library after work. I made us grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner and then we played Parcheesi for a while It was getting close to the boy's bedtime and I told them to get ready for bed. Mr. Winchester came in while they were in the bathroom.  
I was cleaning up the game when he walked into the living room. “Did you have fun at the library?” I asked him.

“I found some of what I was looking for.” he said. He seemed distracted.

He looked at me. “Pajamas now, Kate?”

“I'm tired, I thought I'd go to bed early tonight.” I said. The bathroom door opened and the boys came into the living room. Sam ran up to Mr. Winchester and jumped into his arms.

“Kate's going to bed with us!” Sam said happily. 

“This should be interesting.” Mr. Winchester said. 

We all went into the bedroom together and he read to them and then tucked them in. After he had hugged and kissed them, he came over to me. I was already laying down. He looked down at me for a moment and then cupped my cheek with his hand. “Good night, Kate.” he said, smiling at me.

“Good night.” I said to him. 

Unfortunately, the boys were excited by me being in the bedroom with them, and they kept whispering to me and goofing around with each other. I told them to stop talking and go to sleep a couple times. 

“Boys and Kate, settle down in there!” Mr. Winchester called. 

Sam silently hit Dean with his pillow and then they were scuffling under the covers. Then Dean said, “OW, Sam!” loudly and sat up, hand on one eye. “You and your pointy elbows!” he snapped. 

Mr. Winchester stalked into the room and over to Sam's bed quickly. He yanked the covers down, grabbed Sam and turned him onto his stomach, and then swatted his bottom twice. He turned Sam onto his back and leaned down, putting his hands on the bed on either side of Sam's shoulders.

“There's plenty more where that came from if you don't knock it off RIGHT NOW.” he said tightly. “Do you understand?” He stared down at Sam.

“Yessir.” Sam said quickly. 

Mr. Winchester straightened up and looked at Dean and then over at me. “Enough with the shenanigans. It's time to go to sleep.” he said sternly.

“Yes sir.” Dean and I said, almost at the same time.

“Dean, is your eye okay?” Mr. Winchester asked. “Let me see.” He tilted Dean's head back and looked at his eye, then nodded. “It looks fine.”

Mr. Winchester walked out of the room and Dean laid back down. Moments later, there was a flurry of movement under their covers.

Dean said, “Cut it OUT!” and at the same time Sam said, “Get oooofff!” and then all of a sudden, Sam flew off of the bed and fell onto the floor with a loud thud, looking surprised. 

Mr. Winchester walked in carrying a sleeping bag. He said, “Strike three, boys.” He dropped the sleeping bag on the floor at the foot of the bed and pointed at Dean. “Dean, you're on the floor tonight.” 

“Aww, why me?” Dean complained, picking up his pillow.

“Because I said so, young man.” Mr Winchester sounded angry. He turned and looked at me. “Kate, could you excuse us please?” 

“Sure.” I got out of bed.

“Why does she have to go?” Sam asked, standing up. Mr Winchester sat on the edge of the bed and took Sam's arm. “I don't think you want her in here while you're getting a spanking, do you?” Mr. Winchester asked him. I didn't hear what Sam said, as I quickly left the room and went to the kitchen. I sat down at the kitchen table. 

In a few minutes, Mr. Winchester came into the kitchen. He looked tired. He walked to the fridge and got out a beer. 

He said to me. “It's safe to go back in now. Hopefully their sniffling won't keep you awake.” 

“I feel bad because they were just excited by me being in there with them.”

He shook his head. “Don't feel bad. You've seen how they get at bedtime. These days, the nights they go to bed without getting swatted are pretty rare.” 

 

 

The next day we heard that Jake's brother Jesse had gone into the hospital. Kids stopped hanging out at The Circle because their parents didn't want them outside. We were all feeling uneasy because no one knew what was causing the comas or illnesses.

Mr. Winchester went to the library a couple more times in the evening for a couple hours., looking stuff up. He spent a lot of time on his phone too. I wasn't sure what he was trying to do. He wasn't a doctor so I don't know how he could figure out what was happening to the kids. 

He told us that he wanted us to stay inside for now and not play with the kids in the neighborhood, because nobody knew what was causing the illness. We did some more baking- -cookies, coffee cake, and shortbread-- and I got the boys interested in watching some other cooking shows. There were a couple of cooking competitions that we liked. We also played lots of board games, but after a couple days of this, we were all getting antsy.


	10. Chapter 10

Mr. Winchester said he would take us to the library with him after dinner so we could get out of the house for a while.

“I have a library card, so you guys can get some books out too, okay?” I said to the boys.

“Thanks, Kate!” Sam said happily.

As Mr. Winchester parked the car, he said to us, “Remember, you have to be quiet in the library. I will let you three go to the kid's section, but you have to stay together. I don't want any of you going off by yourself, understand?” 

“Yes sir.” the three of us said.

He turned to look at us. “Kate is in charge, so you need to listen to her. You hear me, Sam?”

“Yes, Dad.” Sam said. 

We followed Mr. Winchester into the library. “I'm going to be on the computer for a while, and then I may go downstairs to the reference room. If I do, I'll let you know.”

“Okay Dad.” Dean said. “Look, there's a fish tank over there!”

“All right, behave yourselves.” Mr. Winchester said, ruffling Sam's hair. The boys ran over to look at the huge fish tank that was in the kids' section. I stood there with them for several minutes while they looked at all the fish. 

“Let's go get some books now.” I said. We walked over to the picture book section for Sam first. 

“How many books can I get out?” he asked, looking up at me. 

“Um, how about five?” I said. 

“I want to find some books about dinosaurs.” he said. 

“You mean, like kid's books, or things like encyclopedias?”

“Cycla- pedias.” he said. “Books that have lots of facts.”

“Okay, that will be in that section on the other side of these shelves. Come on.” I turned to look for Dean and couldn't see him. I walked around the low shelves and founds him in the section that had chapter books and graphic novels.

“Dean, we're supposed to stay together!” I reminded him.

“I could hear you guys, I was just around the corner.” he said.

“Don't argue with Kate, she's in charge!” Sam told him.

“Shut up, Sam!” Dean said, and Sam stuck his tongue out at Dean.

Dean pushed Sam and Sam fell backwards into the shelves with a loud bang. 

“OW!” Sam said. He stood up and whined, “My back huuuurts!”

“Dean, stop it!” I said sharply. “Sam, turn around.” I pulled up the back of his shirt. There was a red mark near his shoulder where he had hit the shelf.  
“You have a red mark there.” I told him, rubbing his back. “It's not bleeding or anything though. You're okay.” I hugged his shoulders.

“I'm telling Dad!” Sam said loudly. 

A librarian walked by wheeling a cartful of books. She looked at us over her glasses and said, “Shh!” in a stern voice.

“Boys, calm down!” I hissed. I wondered if they were being mean to each other because we had been cooped up in the house together for so long.   
“Okay, Dean, what do you want to get?” I asked, trying to get them to focus. “You pick your books out and then we'll go find some books for Sam.”

'”Why does Dean get to go first? That's not fair!” Sam whined.

“Because the books you want are over in that other section, and we're already right here in the section for Dean.” I told Sam. “Now hush.”

He looked up at me for a moment, and then crossed his arms and huffed at me. I had never said anything like that to him before, but to be honest, he was getting on my nerves a little bit. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. 

“What kinds of books do you like, Dean?” I asked him. 

“Dunno,” he said. He finally picked out some graphic novels that were based on a cartoon show and a couple of books that featured a cartoon mouse who was a detective.

“Okay, the books for Sam are this way.” I said, turning around. “Sam?” I couldn't see him now! I walked to the end of the aisle, and he was just around the corner.  
“Sam!” I said. “You need to stay where I can see you!” I admonished him. “Let's go get some books for you.” 

The boys followed me over to the section with the non-fiction books and I helped Sam pick out some books about dinosaurs. He picked out a book about Greek Myths and Legends too. 

Mr. Winchester came walking up to us. “There you are.” he said. “I didn't think I'd find you over here.”

“Look at this cool book!” Sam held up a book to him. It was a pop-up book about dinosaurs. 

“Looks interesting, Sammy. I'm going to go down to the reference room-- what's wrong, Kate?” Mr. Winchester looked at me. 

“What?” I asked.

“You look a little stressed out.” he told me.

“The boys are being a little bit of a handful.” I admitted. 

He frowned at them. “Okay, boys, you two come with me and let Kate have a few minutes to herself. You haven't picked any books out yet, have you?” he asked.

“No.” I said, feeling grateful to him.

“Come down and find us when you're done.” he said. He walked away with the boys trailing behind him. 

I heard Sam say, “Dad, Dean was being mean to me!”

Mindful of the fact that the boys were probably bored in the reference room with their Dad, I hurried and found some books I'd been looking for. I walked downstairs and found them at a table. Sam was staring at the ground pouting, and Dean had his arms folded on the table and his head on his arms. 

“Hey guys,” I said. “There's a playground out back, do you want to go?”

Dean sat up. “Can we, Dad?”

Mr. Winchester looked over at us. “Well--” he said hesitantly.

“It's fenced in.” I told him. “And the parking lot is next to it, so it's not like it's on the street or anything.”

“All right.” he sighed. “You can go for a few minutes. I'm almost done here.” 

We walked upstairs and I checked our books out, then led the boys outside. I got on a swing and the boys started to run around and climb. This is what they need, to be able to blow off some steam, I said to myself. 

“Hey look!” I heard Sam call. I got off the swing and turned around. Sam had gone over to the fence on the edge of the playground. There was a large gap in the fence where some of the metal had come apart.

“There's a dog!” Sam said excitedly. He stepped through the hole in the fence. 

“Sam, come back!” I said. 

Dean went over to the fence. “Sam--” he started, but then he said, “Oh my gosh, he's cute!” He went through the fence also. 

“Boys!” I called, hurrying over. “You shouldn't be outside the fence!”

I looked through the gap. Sam was crouched down petting a dog that was really cute. The dog was wagging its tail and panting and looked very happy that two boys were petting him. The dog saw me and barked at me.

“Come pet him, Kate!” Sam said, glancing at me.

“Well, I guess--” I said, leaning down into the opening. 

“Boys!” I heard Mr. Winchester call. His voice was deeper than usual, like it got when he was angry. I became nervous. He walked quickly over to us. 

“What are you two doing?” he asked tightly.

“Um, we were petting this dog.” Sam stood up, looking guilty.

“Are you supposed to leave the playground?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“But Dad, it's just on the other side of the fence!” Dean said. 

“Get back in here!” Mr. Winchester said in a stern voice. Sam and Dean hurried through the fence and stood next to me. 

Mr. Winchester looked at me. “Kate, you were getting ready to go over there and pet the dog too, weren't you?” 

Tears came to my eyes. “I'm sorry.” I said. “I did tell them to come back and that they shouldn't be outside the fence.” A tear dripped down my cheek and I wiped it away quickly. “I'm sorry.” I said again. “Are you going to fire me?” I asked quietly. 

He sighed, and looked at each of the boys and then at me. "No, Kate, I'm not going to fire you, so you can stop worrying about that. From now on, when the boys get into trouble, if it's a situation like this, you'll get in trouble along with them and have to face whatever consequences they get.” 

“Uh-- consequences?” I asked uneasily. 

“We'll discuss it in the car.” he said curtly. “Get your books and let's go.” We walked over to the spot where we had piled our books and picked them up. We followed him to the car and I got in the back with the boys. We held our books on our laps.

Mr. Winchester started the car and pulled into traffic. “You boys didn't behave very well in the library.” he said. “When we get home, all three of you are going straight to bed.” 

“Aw Dad, I wanted to read my books!” Sam complained.

“Would you rather get a spanking, Samuel?” Mr. Winchester looked at him in the rear-view mirror. “Because that's what's going to happen if you keep it up. I said you could go onto the playground, not outside of it, and not go pet a stray dog!”

Sam folded his arms again. “No, I don't want a spankin.” he said sourly, kicking the back of the seat.

“Lose the attitude, and don't kick my seat.” Mr. Winchester said, his voice close to a growl. 

Dean touched Sam's arm and shook his head a little bit when Sam looked at him. 

 

When we went into the house, Mr. Winchester said, “Put your books on the kitchen table, all three of you. You can look at them tomorrow.” 

“But Daaaaad-” Sam whined. 

Mr .Winchester took Sam's arm and turned him, and then swatted his bottom once. “Sam, you boys did not listen, and you left the playground. I expect you to do what I tell you, and to do what Kate tells you as well. You did neither. Now, you need to go get your pajamas on and get ready for bed, or else.” 

Sam opened his mouth and looked like he was going to say something, but then Mr. Winchester swatted him again. 

“Ow!” Sam whined. “What was that for?”

“I know that look on your face, and you're getting ready to sass me. Don't do it, unless you want to go to bed with a sore bottom.” Mr. Winchester let go of Sam and gave him a gentle push. “Go.” he said. 

I stacked my books on the table next to the boy's books and I couldn't resist, I opened the top book and began reading the summary on the inside flap of the cover. 

“Kate.” Mr. Winchester said. “You're trying my patience.” 

I closed the book. “I'm waiting for the boys to get finished in the bathroom.”I said, with more feeling in my voice than I meant. 

“Excuse me?” he said tightly. “You can go put your your pajamas on while they are brushing their teeth.”

“Uh, yes sir.” I said quickly. 

I went into the bedroom and hurriedly changed onto my pajamas while the boys were in the bathroom. After they were finished, I brushed my teeth and then came back into the bedroom. 

Mr. Winchester was standing at the foot of their bed and saying, “No reading tonight. And no talking or goofing around. Straight to sleep.” He leaned down and hugged and kissed the boys, and tucked them in. 

I got into the other bed and he walked over to me and leaned down to hug me, then he tucked me in too. It was nice, because it had been a long time since my parents had hugged me at bedtime and even longer since they had tucked me in.

He closed the door partway and turned off the overhead light.

Sam rolled over and said in a loud whisper, “That dog was so cute. I wish we could have a dog.”

“Maybe when we're older.” Dean whispered back.

Sam raised his head and looked at me. “Do you like dogs, Kate?”

I rolled over onto my stomach and looked at him. “I guess.” I said. “Go to sleep.” 

The door opened and Mr. Winchester stood there. “I thought I said no talking.” he said in a stern voice. “This is your last warning. If I have to come in here again, there will be three children with sore bottoms when I am done. It doesn't matter if I hear one of you or all three of you, you will all be getting a spanking. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir.” all three of us said. He left the room.

“Go to sleep now!” I whispered to the boys, feeling apprehensive. I had no doubt that Mr. Winchester would follow through on his threat and I had no desire to find out what a spanking felt like. My parents had never done anything like that, so I only had a vague idea of what it entailed anyway. 

A minute or two passed in silence, then the boys started moving around in their bed. 

“Gimme some room, Dean!” Sam hissed. 

“Get your stinky feet off me!” Dean hissed back.

“Boys, hush!” I whispered. 

“Move OVER, Dean!” Sam said loudly. 

“Sam!” I hissed, feeling scared now. 

The door swung open again and Mr. Winchester came into the room.

“Dean's hoggin' the bed!” Sam exclaimed, sitting up.

“Sam keeps pushing me with his feet!” Dean retorted.

Mr. Winchester put his hand on his hips. “What did I say, huh? What did I tell you not less than not five minutes ago?” He looked at each of us.

“That we would all get spankins if you heard one of us.” Sam looked at the floor. 

“Yes, and I heard your voice, Samuel, so I guess you should be first.”

“Uh, Mr. Winchester, I've uh, I've... never been spanked.” I said nervously. I hoped that he would forgo spanking me. He looked down at me. “Then I guess you should go first.” he said. “Boys, wait in the hallway.” 

They got out of bed and left the room quickly, Dean closing the door after them. My stomach twisted anxiously and my mouth went dry. Mr. Winchester sat down on the edge of my bed. 

I was still laying on my stomach. Tears came to my eyes as I said, “Um, I'm sorry, I tried to get them to be quiet.” 

“I know you did, but I told you what would happen if I heard any more talking.”

“Is-- is this what you meant by a consequence?” I asked.

“Yes, Kate. I don't always spank the boys, but if the situation warrants it, I will. And if you're involved, then you can expect a spanking as well.”

“But- but I--” I started to say. 

He pulled the covers down to my knees and swatted my bottom once. I gasped at the sting of it, because it hurt! Then his hand came down, rapid fire, on my bottom, several times in a row and I burst into tears after the first couple swats. His hand seemed huge and hard. I whimpered, the tears sliding down my face onto my pillow. When he stopped, my butt was stinging. 

“Sit up, it's done.” he said. “Come here.” 

I turned and sat up and he pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back and leaned my head on his chest. 

When I had calmed down and stopped crying, he asked me, “Are you going to stop talking and go to sleep now?”

“Yes sir.” I sniffled, wiping my eyes. “I'm sorry we were talking.”

“You're a good girl, Kate.” he said, rubbing the back of my head. 

I laid down again and he pulled the covers up and tucked them around me.  
Then he left the room and closed the door. A moment later I heard the sounds of swatting in the hallway and Sam whimpering. The door opened and Sam came in, head down. Mr. Winchester closed the door again and then we heard more swatting. In a moment Dean walked in, wiping his face off, and Mr. Winchester followed him, carrying the sleeping bag again. Dean got into the sleeping bag and Mr. Winchester tucked Sam in.

He said firmly, “Go to sleep now.”

“Yes sir.” we mumbled, and the three of us sniffled ourselves to sleep.

 

In the morning I woke up to the smell of bacon. The boys were still asleep as I got out of bed. 

I went into the kitchen, where Mr. Winchester was standing at the stove. He had a spatula in one hand and was drinking from a coffee mug.

When he saw me he put the mug on the counter and said, “Good morning, Kate.”

“Good morning,” I said, feeling a little uncomfortable. “I'm sorry about yesterday.” 

He shook his head. “Clean slate today.” he said. 

Suddenly I went up to him and hugged him. “Thank you for letting me stay here.” I said, feeling tears come to my eyes. “I don't think I would have been able to deal with being alone for eighteen days.”

He put his arms around me and hugged me back. “I'm glad that we could help you out. I think you make a nice addition to our household.” He patted my back and then let go.

I went over to the cabinets and got out some plates and started setting the table.

The boys came in just then, rubbing their eyes and yawning. 

“I thought I smelled bacon!” Dean said happily. 

They sat down at the table and I got out the orange juice. 

Sam said, “I just remembered, we got books yesterday! Where did you put them, Dad?”

“They're in the living room.” Mr. Winchester said.

Sam started to get up, but Mr. Winchester said, “No books at the table, Sam, remember?”

“Aww!” Sam complained. 

“Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes and then you can go read your books afterwards.” Mr. Winchester told him. “Be patient.” He brought a plate of bacon over to the table and started to cook some scrambled eggs. “Remember, I want you to stay inside, doors and windows locked.” he reminded us. 

“We will, Dad.” Dean said. 

Mr. Winchester brought the pan over and served us. “I'm running behind.” he said, leaning down to kiss the boys. He dropped a kiss in the top of my head too, and said, “Behave yourselves today, you three. I'll see you tonight.”

 

We spent most of the day reading books. Well, I got to read some, and then I read some of Sam's dinosaur encyclopedias to him. I made pancakes for lunch, and then we decided to play Monopoly. We played for a couple hours, and I was surprised that both boys were really into it and were able to keep their attention on the game that long. Even more surprising was that Sam won the game. Dean had bought up lots of properties, and then I had a run of bad luck and lost most of my money. 

And then somehow the same thing happened to Dean, and Sam was the only one with any money left. He was very proud of the fact that he had won the game.  
We heard the rumble of the Impala's engine, and Sam ran out to meet his father on the sidewalk. “Daddy, I won the Monopoly game!” he said.

“Sam, what did I tell you about coming outside?” Mr. Winchester said angrily. He grabbed Sam's arm and swatted his rear, and then dragged him inside and swatted him a couple more times. Tears were streaming down Sam's face.

Mr. Winchester took Sam's shoulders. “I gave you an order to stay inside! And you disobeyed it!” he yelled, shaking Sam.

“But you were right there coming up the side walk!” Sam whined.

“That doesn't matter! You need to do what I tell you!” he hollered, shaking Sam again.

“I'm sorry, Daddy!” Sam whimpered.

Mr. Winchester stood up and let go of him. He looked at Dean and me. “Have either of you gone outside? Do I need to spank anyone else?” 

Both of us said “No sir,” very carefully.

He turned away and leaned on the counter. His face was angry but he also looked very worried. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

“Come on, boys.” I said. We went into the living room and I turned on the tv. We sat on the sofa and I put my arms around Sam and held him. He was still crying. 

Mr. Winchester came into the living room and turned the tv off, then he sat down in the armchair next to the sofa. “I'm sorry I flew off the handle like that.” he said heavily. “Right now, it is very important that you do exactly as I have told you, for your safety. That's why I got so upset, Sammy. Do you understand?”

“Okay Daddy. I'm sorry.” Sam sniffled. Mr. Winchester beckoned to Sam and Sam went to him. Mr. Winchester picked him up and held him. Sam put his arms around his dad and snuggled into his chest. 

“I'm sorry too, Sammy. You're a good boy.” Mr. Winchester murmured quietly.

He looked at me and Dean. “I want you telling me if you notice anything unusual or out of the ordinary. Anything at all, understand?”

“Why? Does anyone know why kids are getting sick? What's causing it?” I asked, feeling scared.

“Nobody is positive about anything yet.” Mr. Winchester said. “How about we get pizza for dinner?”

Mr. Winchester let us eat in the living room while we watched a movie. I got the feeling he was trying to make up for having been so harsh with Sam. The boys went to bed with no issues for once, and both fell asleep quickly. I stayed up and read until 10:00, and then I closed the book and said I was going to bed. I didn't want to cause any problems either. It took me a while to fall asleep because I kept hearing noises outside.

 

 

I sat up and stretched. “Hey, sleepyheads.” I called across the room. Dean was on the floor in the sleeping bag. He rolled over and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Sam was still laying down. 

“Sam, wake up!” I said. 

“Hey, ya big faker, wake up!” Dean pulled on the blankets. He got out of the sleeping bag and walked over to the side of the bed. 

“Hey Sam.” He put his hand on Sam's shoulder and shook him. Sam's body flopped limply.

“Sam!” he said again, his voice starting to sound scared.

I got up and went over to Sam's bed. “Sam?” I said. His skin was cool to the touch and his face was pale. There were dark circles under his eyes.  
I looked at Dean. “Why won't he wake up?” I asked.

Dean turned towards the door and yelled, “Daddy! Something's wrong with Sammy!”

Footsteps pounded into the room as Mr. Winchester came running in. We stepped away from the bed as he leaned over and tried to rouse Sam. 

“Oh, no, oh God no,” he was saying under his breath. He turned to us. “Get your shoes on, we're taking him to the hospital!” he said. “Move!” He barked. He wrapped a blanket around Sam and picked him up. 

We ran to put shoes on and followed him out to the car. I got in the back seat and Mr. Winchester gently placed Sam into my lap. His body was limp and heavy in my arms.

Dean sat next to me, his face pale with worry. I looked at him and saw that tears were dripping off of his chin as he cried silently. I felt like bursting into tears myself.

Mr. Winchester parked right at the curb in front of the Emergency Room and carried Sam into the Emergency Room shouting for a doctor. Dean and I hurried after him and stood behind him as he talked to a nurse at the counter. I saw the nurses look at each other knowingly and overhead one of them say, “We got another one.”


	11. Chapter 11

The next couple of hours was a flurry of doctors and nurses and equipment coming in and out of the small room we were in. Dean and I stood in the corner watching the endless parade of people. Mr. Winchester stood by the bed holding Sam's hand when there wasn't a nurse or doctor at the bedside.

“We're going to move him into the pediatric ICU with the other patients.” the doctor said. “I've got an IV started and we'll draw some more blood in the morning.”  
He looked at us. “I'm sorry, but due to the unknown nature of this illness, we're not allowing children to visit. Your son and daughter can visit for a moment to say goodbye, but that's it. Parents are allowed to stay.” He handed us each a small paper mask to put over our nose and mouth. “Go over to the sink and wash your hands too, please, before you go into the room.”

“That's not fair!” Dean said. He started crying. “I want to stay with my brother! You gotta let me stay with Sammy! I have to take care of him!” He turned at the sink and looked up at his dad. 

Mr. Winchester grabbed Dean into a hug. “I know you want to, champ. But he's at the hospital and they're going to take care of him for now. Best thing you can do is go home and take care of Kate. You and she can take care of each other until Sammy gets better, huh?” He leaned down and looked into Dean's eyes.

Dean sniffled. “Okay, Dad.” He looked at me and gave me a small smile. I took his hand and squeezed it.

They allowed us to go into the ward and see Sam. There were rows of beds with kids all hooked up to machines and tubes. Sam looked so small in the big hospital bed. He was still pale. He had a needle taped to his arm and wires taped to his chest attached to a machine that beeped at regular intervals. I walked around the bed and took Sam's hand.

“Sammy--” Dean said brokenly, “You gotta wake up. You gotta get better!” He started crying again. “Please, Sam! Wake up!” He took Sam's other hand and shook it.

A nurse came over to us. “You need to be quiet, please.”

Mr. Winchester put his hand on Dean's shoulder. “Keep it together, Dean. Come on, buddy.”

“Why'd he have to get sick, Daddy?” Dean asked. “Why won't he wake up?”

He turned back toward Sam. “Sammy, come on! Wake up! Please!” His voice got louder and he started crying harder.

The nurse came back over. “Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to take the boy out of here. He's disturbing the other patients.”

“Come on, Dean, we have to go.” Mr. Winchester took Dean's hand. 

“No!” Dean cried out, jerking his hand out of Mr. Winchester's grasp. Dean grabbed at Sam's hand again. Mr. Winchester struggled with Dean for a moment, then picked him up. 

“Kate, let's go.” he said over his shoulder to me as he started walking. Dean kept crying. “Sam! Sammy!” He called over his dad's shoulder. “Don't make me leave him! Sam!” Tears poured down Dean's face as he was carried out of the hospital.

I started crying too. Dean was so upset. I didn't want to leave either but I had to go with them. 

I sat in the back seat with Dean and put my arm around his shoulders and held him as he cried.

Mr. Winchester carried Dean inside and sat on the couch, holding him. I sat next to him, trying hard not to cry. Mr. Winchester shifted Dean onto one of his thighs and then beckoned me. “Come here, Kate.” he said. I got up and went to him, and he pulled me to sit on his other leg and put his arm around me too. I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder. I started crying then, and he held Dean and me until we were all cried out. 

Dean started dozing on Mr. Winchester's lap. I got up and he laid Dean down on the end of the sofa.

“I need to go make some phone calls.” he told me. I curled up on the other end of the sofa. Eventually I fell asleep too. 

 

I felt someone shaking my arm and sat up. Mr. Winchester was standing next to the sofa. “You should wake up and eat something.” He said. “We missed breakfast and lunch.”

“I called Bobby and he's going to come help me out.” he said to Dean, who was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “He's going to stay and watch you while I'm at work. He can protect you.”

“Protect us?” I asked. “From what?”

“Let's go into the kitchen.“ he said. Dean and I followed him and sat down. He sat down between us and folded his hands. “Kate, you know I'm a hunter.” he said. He took a deep breath. “Well, I don't hunt animals. There are...supernatural creatures out there too, and I hunt them.” 

“What do you mean? Like ghosts and werewolves?” I swallowed uneasily.

“Yes, exactly. I know it sounds really 'out there', but trust me when I say it's real.”

“How do you hunt them? Does that mean you—you kill them?”

“Yes, I kill them, or in the case of ghosts, send their spirit to the afterlife. I have lots of different tools that I use.” 

That must have been what was in those duffle bags, I said to myself.

“When I get bigger I'm going to be a hunter like Dad.” Dean said proudly.

“You are?” I asked.

'Yeah, cause he helps people out. He saves them.”

“You save them?” I looked at Mr. Winchester.

“Sometimes people are being hurt by the creature, and I have to do whatever it takes to get rid of it.” 

I tried to wrap my mind around this.

“The reason I'm telling you this is that I believe that the reason that these kids are sick is that a supernatural being is causing it. I'm still not sure what it is yet. My friend Bobby is a hunter too and he's going to help me out.”

“Wow, that's a lot to take in.” I said. “Is that what that book is for?” I asked

“What book?” Mr. Winchester frowned a little.

“There was a book with a lot of hand written stuff in it, Latin and symbols-- it was laying out on the table the day I dropped Sam off when Dean was sick.”

“Yes, that's my journal where I write down all the information I can find about each case. All hunters have a journal. Dean has seen it, but Sam hasn't. He's too young yet to know about this.”

“Okay.” I said. “I won't say anything to him.”

“I'm going to heat up some soup for you both.” he said.

“Dad, I'm not hungry.” Dean said.

“I still want you to eat some. At least drink some of the broth. You haven't eaten all day, you need to get something in your stomach.” he stood up and got some cans out of the pantry. “What do you want?” 

“I don't care.” Dean said, and I said, “It doesn't matter to me.” Tears filled Dean's eyes. “Sammy likes chicken noodle.” he whispered. “The kind with the long noodles. He likes to slurp them.”

I took Dean's hand and squeezed it. “He'll be okay, Dean. He'll get better.”

Dean pulled his hand away from me. “You don't know that!” he snapped. “Don't say things if you don't know if they're true!” and he started to cry again.

I sat back, hurt by his anger at me from out of nowhere. I started to cry too. Mr. Winchester came over to us and put his arms around Dean.  
“Buddy, I know you're upset, but it's not fair to take it out on other people.” Dean turned toward him and grabbed at his shirt. “Daddy I'm so scared!” he sobbed. “What if-- what if he--”

“NO, Dean.” Mr. Winchester said abruptly. “Don't say that, don't even think that. That's an order.” he said sternly. “Do you hear me?” His face got red for a moment.

“Y-yes s-sir.” Dean sobbed out. 

Mr. Winchester looked across the table at me and saw I was crying. “Dean, you made Kate cry.” he said. 

Dean looked at me with tears still brimming. “S-s-sorry Kate.” his chest hitched. I got up from my chair and walked around the table to them and we hugged again until we were calm.

“I'll heat up some beef barley.” Mr. Winchester said. 

“No, I want chicken noodle, 'cause it's Sammy's favorite.” Dean said.

“Are you sure?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“Yeah.” Dean said, wiping his face off with his shirt.

“Kate? That okay with you?” Mr. Winchester looked at me.

“That's fine.” I said. I got out bowls and spoons for us and found some crackers in the pantry and set them on the table. 

It seemed so quiet without Sam. He had so much energy and vitality, when he was in a room, you knew it. We ate quietly. After we ate, we went into the living room and I turned on the t.v. Dean and I sat on the sofa, but we weren't really watching anything. Mr. Winchester's phone rang and he went into his bedroom and closed the door. 

 

 

Dean was brushing his teeth in the bathrom and I was changing into my pajamas when I heard a knock on the door. Dean and I went out to the living room at the same time. Mr. Winchester was hugging another man who was wearing a baseball cap. They clapped each other on the back and then Mr. Winchester turned to us.

“Uncle Bobby!” Dean said, and ran to the man. He leaned down and hugged Dean tightly, then stood up and looked at me.

“Bobby, this is Kate.” Mr. Winchester introduced. 

Bobby nodded at me. “Heard a lot about ya from the boys.” he said gruffly. 

“Nice to meet you, sir.” I said.

“I'll let you get settled in, it's bedtime for the kids.” Mr. Winchester said to Bobby.

Dean and I followed him into the bedroom. Tears started to run down Dean's face as he got into bed. “I miss Sammy.” he said. “All those times I got mad at him for hoggin' the covers and kickin' me...I wish I hadn't done that!” 

“I know. He'll be back soon enough, and then you boys will be bickering just like you normally do.” Mr. Winchester leaned down and tucked him in, then hugged him until he had calmed down. He kissed the top of Dean's head and then stood up and came over to me.

He sat down on the bed and I sat up to hug him. 

“Are you doing okay, Kate?” he asked quietly. “I know I gave you some pretty big information to take in.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Can I ask you about it sometime?”

“Sure, we can talk about it tomorrow if you want. Get some sleep, we've all had a rough day.” 

I laid down and he tucked me in and left the room. I fell asleep hearing him talking to Bobby in the living room.

I woke up in the middle of the night to Dean crying. Mr. Winchester came in and tried to comfort Dean, but he couldn't calm down.  
“Daddy, I wanna sleep with you!” Dean sobbed.

“All right.” Mr. Winchester picked him up. He turned to me. “Kate, you'll be okay in here by yourself?”

“Yeah.” I said. 

“Come get me if you get scared.” he told me, and then carried Dean to his room.

 

 

I was the last one up the next morning. As I walked through the living room, I could hear Bobby talking. “--you ain't in the habit of pickin' up strays, John, what gives?”

“She's not a stray, Bobby. She's been babysitting the boys for a while now, and her parents aren't around much. They left her alone to go on a cruise for a couple weeks and I just couldn't see her being home alone at night all that time.” I heard Mr. Winchester say.

“They left her to go on a cruise? What happened to family vacations?” Bobby asked sarcastically.

Mr. Winchester sighed. “Yeah, they're just this side of neglectful. I'm hoping she gets a sense of family from being here with us, although I think I annoy her because I won't let her stay up all night reading.” 

Bobby chuckled. “One thing John Winchester don't have a problem with is makin' and enforcin' rules for his kids.”

“I'm sure I'm going to have to enforce that rule more than once with her.” Mr. Winchester said dryly. “She's a sweet girl, and good for the boys.”

I walked into the room, nervous about what else they were going to say about me.

“Good morning, Kate,” Mr. Winchester smiled at me. I said good morning to everyone and sat down next to Dean.

Breakfast was different without Sam. I felt a little intimidated by Bobby, he seemed very gruff. He and Mr. Winchester talked about weapons while we ate breakfast. Mr. Winchester stood up and filled his travel mug with coffee, then walked over to the table. 

He leaned down to Dean and said, “Stay strong, buddy, okay? I know you can do it. You and Kate take care of each other today.” He hugged Dean and kissed his head, then walked over to me.

“You okay?” he asked gently. I nodded, and he leaned down and hugged me too. 

“I'll call you after I visit Sammy.” He left to go to work.

I stood up and started clearing the breakfast dishes. 

“What do y'all do for fun?” Bobby asked.

“We play board games. Or bake sometimes.” I told him.

“Bake?” he asked with surprise.

“Yeah, I like to bake.” I said, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Kate's really good at it.” Dean said.

“Dean, you want to look through my cook books and we can find a new kind of cookie to bake today?”

He shook his head. “Nah, I don't want to.” 

“Have you been practicing your whittlin'? Bobby asked him.

“No sir.” Dean shook his head again, staring forlornly at the table. “I'm gonna go watch cartoons.” he mumbled, and walked into the living room.

I washed the dishes as Bobby sat there. “So how'd you come to start watching the boys?” he asked me.

I turned to him, drying my hands on a towel. “My father met Mr. Winchester and suggested that I watch the boys after school. He wants me to be civic-minded like him.”

“Civic-minded?”

“He's a local politician and he is very concerned with doing good things for people. It looks good for his campaign, you see.”

“And you ain't of the same mind?”

“Yeah, I am, sometimes. I used to watch a lot of his collegue's kids, and I would much rather watch Sam and Dean.”

Bobby laughed. “Those two little hell-raisers?”

“Trust me, they're a lot sweeter than the spoiled rich kids I had to watch before.”

Bobby laughed again. “Sweet aint' a word I'd use to describe them either, but they're probably different with you.”

I shrugged. “Probably.”

We went into to the living room. Dean sat listlessly on the sofa, not really watching the tv. I asked him if he wanted me to read to him. He said no. I asked him if he wanted to play a game. He said no. He just sat there staring into space.

“Okay.” I sighed. “I'm going to bake some cookies, but I'm going to need you to be my taste-tester when they're done. Will you help me with that?”

Dean glanced at me. “Sure.” he said. His eyes looked dull.

I spent the day baking. It relaxes me and makes me happy when I do it, and it kept my mind focused. I made peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, and was working on chocolate chocolate chip when Bobby came into the kitchen. There were rows of cookies cooling all over the counters and the table. 

“Geez, kid, when you said you like to bake, you meant it.”

“It relaxes me.” I said.

“John called, he's with Sam. No change.” he looked grave.

“What does that mean? Do they know what's wrong?”

“Not as far as I know. Blood work didn't show any infection or anything.”

“I hope he's okay.” I said, trying not to cry suddenly. 

Bobby walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “I know, kid. Now what's this you were sayin' about taste-testing the cookies?”

 

“Daddy, I want to sleep with you.” Dean said that night at bedtime. 

“All right, champ.” Mr. Winchester looked at me. “Are you okay by yourself in there?”

“Yeah, it doesn't bother me.” I said. Mr. Winchester let Dean stay up for a while until he started to fall asleep, and then carried him back to his bedroom. Bobby had gone out for a while. When Mr. Winchester came back into the living room, he said, “Bedtime at 10, Kate. No staying up reading.”

“I know.” I said, gritting my teeth on the inside. It was the summer time, why couldn't I stay up reading a little later if I wanted to? 

 

Mr. Winchester came into the bedroom and walked over to the bed. ”Kate, bedtime was at 10. It's now 11:17.” 

I felt frustrated. “I want to finish my book,” I said. “I've only got a few pages left.”

“No, Kate, it's time to go to sleep.” He held out his hand. “Give me the book.”

I looked up at him, confused. “Why?” I got angry-- why did he want to take my book?

He looked at me in surprise, raising his eyebrows. “Excuse me ? Did you just hear me tell you to give me the book?”

“Why do I have to give it to you? I'll put it away!” I protested.

“Because I told you to.” 

I stared up at him, feeling stubborn. 

He put his hands on his hips. “Kate, I'm about to put you over my knee.” he said sternly.

“Uh--” I said apprehensively, sitting up. Did he mean--?

“I said give me the book. You'll get it back tomorrow.” 

I was tired of him always telling me to stop reading and go to bed. I looked down at the bed and said, “No!” 

He reached for the book and I pulled away.

His jaw twitched. “That is enough!” he said angrily, and he took my wrist and plucked the book out of my hand. He tossed the book onto the end of the bed and then sat down and pulled me forward over his lap. 

“Hey!” I exclaimed. What was he doing?I tried to push my body up off the bed, but he put his hand on my back and pushed me down. 

“No, Kate, you're staying right here.” he said firmly. I turned my head to look up at him and ask what he was doing and I saw his hand raised, and then he brought it down on my bottom and spanked me. I let out a frightened squeak. He was going to give me another spanking! 

“You do not tell me no.” he swatted me. I flinched and tried to roll off of his lap, but he grabbed my waist and pulled me close to his side, putting his arm over my back. 

“You shouldn't be arguing with me about staying up late reading.” His hand came down again. I whimpered, because these swats were harder than the other time he had spanked me. 

“I told you to go to bed and you disobeyed me.” His hand fell again, lower on my bottom. “I told you to give me the book and you refused.” Another, harder swat fell. “This ends now.” He paused, and I relaxed, thinking that he was done. Then he tightened his grip on my waist and started spanking me, his hand falling continuously for several swats. I burst into tears and put my head down into my hands. 

“I'm going to give you a set time limit for reading at bedtime from now on, is that clear?” he said.

“But—but I—OW!” I exclaimed as he swatted me again. 

“Is. That. Clear.” he repeated, punctuating each word with a hard spank. 

“Yes! Yes sir!” I sobbed. My bottom was throbbing.

”All right.” he said, and helped me sit up. He hugged me, and I said, “No one ever cared if I stayed up late reading. No one cared if I went to bed on time. No one tucked me in. Why do you?” I sobbed harder.

“Because I care about you.” he said. “Not that I think your parents don't, but I think they're too busy with your father's career to raise you right now. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is. I feel bad that your parents aren't there for you, and I'm glad that the boys and I have been able to step in and become your family.”

That made me cry harder, and I put my arms around him. “Me too.” He tightened his arms around me. 

After a couple of minutes, I said, “I'm sorry I've been giving you such a hard time about reading at bedtime.” 

He pulled back and looked at me. “I know you're not used to rules, but I have rules, and while you're here I expect you to follow them. Understand?”

I sniffled. “Yes sir, I will.” 

“Lay down now, time for sleep.” he told me, and I laid down. He pulled the covers up and tucked me in, and then picked up the book from the foot of the bed.   
“Good night, Kate.”

“Good night--” I almost said Dad, but I caught myself. I wondered what he would think if I called him that. At this point he seemed more like a father to me than my own.

 

In the morning, Bobby ans Mr. Winchester were looking at a map that was laid out on the kitchen table. There were little red Xs all over it. 

“I think it's gonna be here or here.” Bobby said, pointing to two different spots.

“What's that for?” I asked.

“The Xs show all the houses that have had kids who got sick.” Mr. Winchester said. “We're trying to figure out where the creature is going to strike next.”

“Do you know what it is?” I asked.

I saw them look at each other. Dean walked in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Yes, we do. We'll talk about it later.” Mr. Winchester said. “How are you feeling, Dean? Sleep okay?”

“Yeah,” Dean mumbled. “Are you gonna make bacon today?”

“I've got to go to work.” Mr. Winchester said. “And I think we're out of bacon.”

“I can make some pancakes, Dean.” I told him.

“Okay.” he said, smiling at me. 

Mr. Winchester left for work and Bobby put the map away. After I made pancakes, Dean and I watched cartoons for a while. 

In the afternoon, Bobby made us lunch and then convinced Dean to play cards. He taught us how to play a game called Poker. We were still playing when Mr. Winchester came home, carrying a couple of pizza boxes.

“I stopped at the hospital.” He said. “Sam's-- well, he's not any better.”

Dean looked at him. “What do you mean? Is he- is he-” and he burst into tears.

Mr. Winchester put the boxes on the counter and came over to Dean. He hugged him and said, “We're going to find this creature, Dean. Bobby thinks he knows where it's going to be and we're going to get it soon. I promise.”

“But when will Sammy get better?” Dean sobbed.

“I don't know.” he said. ”Hopefully when it's dead.”

He served us the pizza and we ate quietly. Dean sniffled throughout the meal. I missed Sam so much it was like an ache in my chest. I wished he could come home.

 

At bedtime, Dean said he would sleep in his bed. I went to bed at the same time as him, so he wouldn't be alone. I thought I would have trouble falling asleep, but I didn't. I guess the stress of all the worrying was getting to me.

I woke up feeling a breeze, which was unusual, because all the windows had been shut and locked for days now. I rolled over and saw the curtains flutter.   
Then I noticed a dark shape. A large figure stood at the side of the bed where Dean slept, leaning forward. It was wearing long dark robes and a hood over its head. Dean was fast asleep. As I watched, the figure bent forward until its head was all the way down in front of Dean's face. The hood flopped forward and I couldn't see what was happening. 

I got out of bed, fear surging in my stomach, and ran over to the figure. “Get off of him!” I said, and grabbed at the robes. 

It straightened up and turned to me, snarling. The hood was still over its head and most of the face was in darkness, but I saw pale skin and deep wrinkles and long, sharp teeth. The creature hissed at me, and then grabbed my arms and shoved me backwards with inhuman strength. I flew into the air, across the room, my head and back knocking into the wall, and landed on the bed.

It turned back toward the bed and bent down to Dean again.

“Help!” I said weakly. My head hurt from where it hit the wall. I started to sit up. “Help!” I called louder, then I took a deep breath and screamed as loud as I could.  
The bedroom door banged open and I saw Mr. Winchester run into the room, holding a gun. He began firing it at the creature, and I screamed again and covered my ears. It was so loud! The creature turned and hissed again, and raised its arm threateningly.

“You're not taking another one!” Mr. Winchester shouted, and he took a couple of quick steps forward, put the gun right up to the creature's head, and fired straight into its forehead. 

The creature collapsed onto the floor in a heap. As we watched, what looked like tendrils of white smoke began to rise from the creature's mouth. They rose up into the air and dissipated. Then the creature essentially dissolved, leaving nothing but dry bones and powder in among the ragged folds of the robe it had been wearing.

Mr. Winchester set his gun down and sat on the bed, grabbing Dean.

“Dean! Dean, are you okay? Dean, wake up!” Mr. Winchester lifted him into a sitting position and touched his face.

“Uhh, what, Dad?” Dean mumbled. “Is it time for school?”

Mr. Winchester let out a dry sob and whispered, “Oh, thank God.” He hugged Dean.

“How do you feel?” he asked, looking at him.

“Fine.” Dean said, and he sat up and looked around. His eyes got big when he saw the pile of rags on the floor.

“Dad, was that--”

“Yes.” Mr. Winchester said. “I killed it.”

Dean looked across the room at me. “Kate!”

I just stared at him. I could feel myself shaking. Mr. Winchester let go of Dean and came over to me, sitting down on the bed. He helped me sit up. “You saw it all.” he said. “Are you okay?'

I shook my head. “What was it doing?” I asked.

“It was sucking the life force out of kids.” Mr. Winchester told me. “But it won't any more.”

“It almost got Dean!” I said, and I burst into tears. He put his arms around me and held me.

“It's all right.” he said soothingly. “It's over. You're safe, and Dean's safe.”

“Is that what you do when you hunt things?” I asked.

“Yes” he said simply. 

“I went up to it and tried to get it to leave him alone.” I said.

He looked down at me. “You what ?”

“I woke up and it was leaning over Dean and I got up and went over and pulled on its robe, and then it pushed me away. It was so strong I flew across the room.” I said.

Mr. Winchester hugged me again. “Kate, that was incredibly brave! Most people just cower in fear when they come across something like that.”

“I don't feel brave right now!” I said. “I almost peed my pants.”

He laughed. “Let's go into the living room and get away from this.” He gestured at the rags on the floor.

Dean got off his bed and we went to the living room.

“Sit down and I'll make you some hot chocolate.” Mr. Winchester said.

I sat next to Dean and he moved close to me and snuggled into me. “You saved my life.” he said. 

“You would have done the same for me.” I told him. I put my arm around him and we sat together until Mr. Winchester brought two mugs in.  
He set them down on the coffee table.

“Bobby's out hunting it.” he told us. “I'm going to call him and tell him I got it.”

Several minutes later, Bobby came into the house.

“Turns out the creature was a lot closer that we thought, huh?” he said, clapping Mr. Winchester on the back. “Glad you got it, John.”

“Well, this one walked up to it and tried to grab it!” Mr. Winchester pointed at me.

Bobby turned to look at me, raising his eyebrows. “Maybe she's got the makings of a hunter!” he said. “Most people ain't that gutsy.”

“I know.”Mr. Winchester said. “Listen, we're going to go clean up Dean's room. Do you two want to sleep in my bed, or lay down out here?”

“I'm too keyed up to sleep.” I told him. “I don't think I'd be able to.”

“Me neither.” Dean agreed.

“We'll stay out here for now.” I said.

“All right. It shouldn't take us that long.”

 

I guess Dean and I did fall asleep, because I woke up when Mr. Winchester was carrying me into the bedroom. He laid me in bed and pulled the covers up, and I looked over and saw Bobby putting Dean into the other bed. I rolled over and fell asleep.

The next thing I knew, the bedroom door banged open, and Mr. Winchester came into the room. The room was filled with sunlight.

“The hospital called, Sammy's awake!” He said happily.


	12. Chapter 12

Dean and I both sat up and jumped out of bed when we heard what Mr. Winchester said. 

“Can we go get him? Right now?” Dean hugged his dad.

“No, the doctors said they want to keep him for at least a day, and do some blood tests and make sure he's okay. But we can go visit him!” Mr. Winchester told him.

“That's so great!” I said, running over to them. Mr. Winchester put his arm around me and hugged me.

“Get dressed and then we can eat a quick breakfast and go over to the hospital.” he told us.

I grabbed some clothes and went to change in the bathroom. Dean was already sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal when I came out. 

“I can't wait to see Sammy!” Dean said happily. 

“I can't wait to see the little rugrat either.” Bobby said, sipping his coffee.

“Let's bring some of the cookies I made.” I said. “Hopefully he can eat them.”

Mr. Winchester looked at me. “Oh, the cookies are for eating? I thought you were opening a bakery!” He grinned at me. “I'm just teasing you, Kate.”

“No, Dad, they're all for us!” Dean told him. 

We finished eating and Bobby followed us to the hospital. When we went to check in, the nurse asked, “These are family members? We're trying to keep the visitors to a minimum and only allow family, and not friends of the family.”

Mr. Winchester glanced at Bobby. “Yes, they're all family.”

“Family ain't always blood, is it?” Bobby said quietly as we followed the nurse down the hall.

Sam was sitting up in bed eating jello. He pushed the tray table to the side and tried to jump out of bed. “Dean!” he exclaimed with a huge smile on his face.

“All right, young man, watch your IV.” the nurse chided him. Dean ran to him and they hugged, then Sam said, “Daddy!” and Mr. Winchester picked him up and hugged him. I could hear him murmuring to Sam as he rubbed Sam's back. He put Sam down on the bed and wiped his eyes.

Sam saw me and said, “Kate! And Uncle Bobby? What are you doing here?” I went over to him and hugged him. He seemed thin, and he still looked pale.

I let him go and moved back and Bobby stepped up to hug him and ruffle his hair. “I stopped by for a visit, Sam.” Bobby said to him.

“The nurses said that it's a miracle that all the kids are waking up at the same time!” Sam told us. “Nurse Maggie said that it's because she prayed at church every night for the kids.”

I saw Mr. Winchester glance at Bobby. “It is amazing.” he said. “I'm just glad you're awake, kiddo.”

Sam seemed sleepy and a little out of it. He kept yawning.

A nurse stopped by and told us, “We want to check bloodwork before they leave, but he should be good to go by tomorrow. Sam is doing very well!”

Mr. Winchester smiled at Sam. Jake and his parents stopped as they were walking by. 

“Jesse's awake!” Jake said. “He gets to go home tomorrow!”

“So do I!” Sam said. 

“Such a relief, huh?” Jake's Dad said to Mr. Winchester. “The doctors have no idea what was causing it or what brought the kids out of it.”

“The important thing is that they're better.” Mr. Winchester said.

“We'll see you around The Circle!” Jake said. “A couple of the parents want to have a welcome home party for all the kids there, this weekend!”

“Yay!” Sam said. “That will be fun!”

He yawned. 

“We should let you get some rest.” Mr. Winchester said. 

“I'm gonna hit the road.” Bobby said. “Sam, I'll probably see you boys some time this summer, huh?”

“Okay Uncle Bobby.” Sam said.

“Bye Uncle Bobby!” Dean said, hugging him. 

We stayed for a few more minutes,and Sam told us about some of the other kids that were there. There were all different ages, and most of them were from the neighborhood and the surrounding area. Sam started to look sleepy, so we hugged him goodbye and left the hospital.

 

 

I couldn't sleep that night. Dean had fallen asleep quickly again. I walked back out to the living room and sat on the sofa. Mr. Winchester was sitting with a bottle of beer. 

“What's up, Kate?” he asked.

“Um, I couldn't sleep.” I said. “I just-- after everything that happened over the past couple of days...”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yeah.” I said. “Didn't it make you upset when Sam said that the nurse said that he woke up because she prayed every day? When it was actually because you killed the- the creature?”

“It was called a shtriga. A kind of witch that feeds off of the life force of people.” he told me. “And no, it didn't make me upset. I do what I do to help people, not for recognition. I don't get paid for any of it , and only rarely will people thank me if they know about what I've done.”

“Why do it then?” I asked. “What's the point?”

He took a deep breath. “Well, my wife was killed by something supernatural.” He looked at me and took a swallow of beer. “I'm still not sure what it was.”

“Oh gosh, I'm sorry. “ I said. “Sam told me his mom-- passed when he was a baby.”

“Yeah, that's what got me into the hunting life.” he said. “I started trying to research what could have possibly killed her and I started learning about all the different creatures that are out there. And I wanted to prevent other families from going through what happened to the boys and me. So, if I can save someone, or help a family, I'll do what it takes.”

“That's pretty amazing.” I said. “Most people would want some sort of acknowledgement about what they did.” I thought about how my father liked to “do good things” in the community, but he also always liked to have cameras there taking pictures of him doing it.

He shrugged. “Just knowing that I saved someone is good enough for me.” He leaned forward. “Now listen, Kate. I need to tell you something. I know I said that you were brave yesterday, and you were. But going up to the creature was also dangerous, because you had no idea what it was or what it was doing. It could have killed you. If you are ever in a situation like that again, I want you to run away if you can, or hide.”

“I'm sorry.” I said, and my eyes filled with tears at the realization that I could have died. “I wasn't thinking about that.” I started shaking again.

“I know.” he said. “You were just going on instinct, and you wanted to protect Dean. It's all right, it worked out that time. And I doubt you'll ever be in a situation like that again.” He held his arm out to me and I went to him and snuggled into him for a few minutes until I had stopped crying. 

“Your parents should be coming back in a couple of days.” he told me.

“I don't want to go back to them.” I said, laughing ruefully. 

“They're your parents, you have to.” he said. 

“What did they say when you called them to ask if I could stay here?” I looked up at him. “Did my father get upset?”

“I talked to your mother.” he said. “I told her that I was concerned about you being home alone all night and said I was offering to have you stay with us, so that I could keep an eye on you. I tried to be diplomatic about it, and she agreed that it would be a good thing to have you here.”

“My mother is more protective of me like that. My father thinks I should just be able to do anything that he wants me to do.” I said. 

“I got that sense.” he agreed. “I'm glad I talked to your mother about it. I don't think he would have felt the same way.”

“No, he probably would have gotten all offended .” I said.

 

 

At the hospital the next day, there were reporters and people with cameras. “We'd like to do a story on the miraculous recovery of these children, and feature some of the families – would you be interested?” A woman asked Mr. Winchester. 

He shook his head. “No, thank you. I'm sure there are plenty of other families who would like to be in the article.”

We walked past all the people into the ward. Sam was sitting up in his bed holding a stuffed dog. 

“Where did you get that?” Dean asked. 

“The nurses gave a stuffed animal to every kid that got sick.” Sam said happily. “I picked a dog! His name is Ralph.”

“Ralph?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“Yeah, after the Mouse and Motorcycle! I think Ralph is a cool name.” Sam petted the toy's head.

“It also means puke.” Dean said, smirking. “You have a puke-dog!”

“Nuh-uh, Dean! Don't say that!” Sam pushed Dean's shoulder.

“Well, it's good to see that the boys are back to normal.” Mr. Winchester said, rolling his eyes. “Hands to yourself, Sam.” He put Sam's clothes on the foot of the bed. “I need to go find a nurse and see about checking you out of the hospital.” He said. “I'll be back in a few minutes.”

“What did you guys do while I was in here?” Sam asked. He was a lot more aware and awake than he had been yesterday. 

“Not much.” I said.

“Uncle Bobby stayed with us for a couple days.” Dean said, glancing at me. 

“Aw man! I wish I had been there!” Sam said regretfully.

“He taught us how to play a card game called Poker. And Kate did a lot of baking. There were cookies everywhere!”

“Can we make some cookies when we get home, Kate?” Sam asked me.

“Probably not today, but yeah, we can. Maybe tomorrow. My parents are coming home in a couple days, so I'll have to go back to them in the evenings.”

“What?” Both Sam and Dean looked at me with shocked looks on their faces.

Sam started crying. “I don't want you to leave, Kate!”

“Shh, Sam, calm down.” I said. “Don't cry. I'll still be babysitting you every day, I just won't be staying with you at night.”

“But I like having you there at night!” Sam's crying was getting louder. I sat down on the bed and hugged him. “It's okay, Sam. We'll still see each other every day.”  
Mr. Winchester walked over, holding some papers. “Sam's all discharged- what's wrong?”

“Kate told us she has to leave in a couple days.” Dean said. I looked over at him. He had tears in his eyes too.

“Well, you boys had to realize that there was going to be a day that she was going to have to go back to her family. Let's not think about that right now, we should celebrate Sam getting out of here. Let's get you dressed, buddy.” 

Mr. Winchester helped Sam get dressed and then a nurse brought a wheelchair over.

“I can walk, I don't need that!” Sam said.

“Hospital policy.” she told him. “Everyone leaves in a wheelchair.”

“Can I push him?” Dean asked. 

“As long as it's not too heavy for you.” the nurse said. Dean pushed Sam through the ward and Sam waved at a couple of the kids. At the nurse's station, a couple of them came over to hug Sam.

“You take care of yourself, young man.” one of them said.

“Your little brother is such a sweet boy!” an older woman with gray hair said to me.

“Thank you.” I smiled at her.

We started to walk toward the elevators.

“Ready, Sammy?” Dean said, and then he took off running fast, pushing Sam's wheelchair in front of him. Sam laughed loudly, shouting, “Go, go, GO!”

“Boys!” Mr. Winchester called, jogging after them. I ran to catch up.

Mr. Winchester grabbed Dean's arm and bent down to him. “Do I need to spank you right here? Do not do that again!” 

Dean looked down at the floor. “Yessir. Sorry.” he said.

Sam turned in the wheelchair. “But Daddy, it was fun! I wasn't gonna get hurt!”

“Not the point, Sammy. What if you had run into someone else?”

“Oh.”Sam said. “Sorry.”

“I'll push him the rest of the way.” Mr. Winchester straightened and took the wheelchair. “Let's go.”

As we walked to the car, Sam turned his face up to the sun. “It feels like I haven't been outside in forever.” he said. “The sun feels good!”

I squeezed his hand. “I'm so glad you're okay now.”

“How about we stop for pizza on the way home? We can go to that place that has the arcade games.” Mr. Winchester said.

“Yeah!” Sam said. 

 

We ended up not staying for very long after we ate because Sam was very obviously tired. The doctors had said that Sam should take it easy the first couple of days and rest periodically during the day. At bedtime, Dean was very happy to have Sam back in the bedroom with him. Sam wanted me to be in there with him too, so I laid down in the other bed with my book. Sam was already dozing as Mr. Winchester tucked them in. He walked over to me. “You may read until 9:30, and then the book goes away and it's lights out.” he told me.

I looked up at him. “Uh, okay.” I said grudgingly, frowning a little.

“I trust that we're not going to have a repeat of the other night?” he asked, giving me a stern look.

“No, sir.” I said quickly. I did not want another spanking!

At 9:30 he came in and walked over to me. “Time to go to sleep, Kate.”

I yawned and closed the book, setting it on the bedside table. I realized that I was really tired.

“Good girl.” he said, and leaned down to kiss the top of my head. 

I laid down and said, “Good night, Da- uh, Mr. Winchester.” 

He stood there a moment, looking down at me, then said “Good night.”

 

 

In the morning I woke up hearing Sam laughing. Dean was tickling him in bed. It was a great sound to wake up to. 

I rolled over and looked at them. “Good morning!” I said, smiling at them. “I'm so glad you're home, Sam!” 

“Me too”! He said happily. He glanced at Dean, and then they both got off the bed and ran over to me. They jumped on the bed and Sam said, “Tickle attack!” and they both started tickling me. I started laughing and trying to tickle them back, but it was two against one, so I didn't do too well.

The door opened and Mr. Winchester came in. “What is all the noise? Oh.”

Sam said, “Let's tickle Daddy!” He got off the bed and ran over to his Dad. 

“Daddies aren' t ticklish,” Mr. Winchester said. “It's my job to tickle you!” he picked Sam up and tickled him, and Sam shrieked with laughter. 

I felt so happy that Sam was home, and then I realized I was going to have to leave this in a couple days, I got tears in my eyes. I blinked them away after a moment.

“Let's go eat breakfast, I have to leave for work soon.” Mr. Winchester said.

 

We ate and then Mr. Winchester left for work. Sam wanted to play Monopoly, so we played that all morning. Sam was being very silly the whole time and giggling a lot. I asked him what he wanted for lunch, and he requested grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. He ate two sandwiches and two bowls of soup.

“Sam, your dad said you have to lay down and rest after lunch.” I told him.

“I don't wanna take a nap, I'm not a baby!” Sam snapped.

“Yes, but the doctors said that you should rest during the day.”

“I don't care!” Sam said, crossing his arms. “I'm not gonna take a nap, and you can't make me!” 

“Sam--” I started, but Dean over-rode me. “We'll tell Dad, and then you'll get in trouble.” Dean told him. “You know you're s'posed to listen to Kate and do what she says.”

“But I spent all that time in that dumb bed in the hospital, I want to play!”

“Sam, it's time for you to rest.” I said. “Come on.”

“We're not gonna play with you if you stay up, Sam.” Dean said.

“Fine! I'll leave then!” Sam started toward the door. “I'll go find someone who will play with me!”

I walked after him and grabbed his arm. “No you won't!” I said, getting angry. “Don't you dare leave this house!”

He tried to pull away from me. “Get off me! I'm not takin' a STUPID NAP!” he shouted. 

“You don't have to take a nap, just lay quietly in bed for a while.” I took a deep breath to try and calm down. I let go of his arm. 

Sam clenched his fists and stomped his feet and shouted, “NO!” 

“What's going on here?” 

All three of us turned. Mr. Winchester had come in without any of us noticing.

“Sam won't rest!” Dean said. “And he's bein' a jerk to Kate!”

“Why are you home, Daddy?” Sam asked uneasily.

“I came home early to check on you and see how you were doing.” Mr. Winchester said. “Obviously things are not going well. I heard shouting as I came up the walk.” He looked at me. “Is Sam not listening to you?”

“Uh, no.” I said slowly. I hated feeling like I was tattling on Sam. “He said he didn't want to lay down and rest.”

“He said he was gonna leave and go find someone to play with! He told Kate, you can't make me!” Dean told his father.

“Samuel?” Mr. Winchester said tightly.

Sam blushed and looked down at his feet. 

“Go to your room, young man. I'll be in to deal with you shortly.”

Sam looked up at him. “But Daaaad--” he whined.

“Would you rather I spank you right here?” he stepped toward Sam, and Sam ran.

“Dad, don't spank him.” Dean said. “He was just being stubborn.”

“It sounds like it was a little more than that, Dean.” Mr. Winchester said. “When I walked in, he was just about to have a full-blown tantrum.”

“But he just got out of the hospital!”

“And I'm sure his bottom is fine, just like the rest of him. A couple swats isn't going to cause any permanent damage. He needs a reminder to do what's he's told.” Mr. Winchester went into the boy's bedroom and closed the door. A couple minutes later we head Sam crying.

Dean looked at me with guilt on his face. “I know he was bein' a brat but I hate when Sammy gets in trouble.” he said.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “I know. You're a good big brother.”

We went into the kitchen and started to play the card game War. In a few minutes Mr. Winchester came in. “Sam's fallen asleep,” he told us. “so you need to be quiet for a while. I think he was tired and that's why he was acting up. And of course, he's stubborn, and doesn't want to lay down and sleep.” He put his hand on my back. “You okay, Kate? I'm sure that was rough on you.”

“Yeah, he's never acted like that before.” I said. “I didn't want him leaving the house, that worried me when he said that.”

“You both did well.” he said, and he reached over and ruffled Dean's hair. 

He looked at me. “Your mother called and said they would be home tomorrow evening.”

Dean looked up at me, and his face got sad. I suddenly felt like crying too.

“You're still gonna babysit us, right?” Dean asked weakly. His voice cracked.

“Yes, I'll be here every day. I just won't be staying at night.” I smiled at him reassuringly. 

“Listen, Kate, if and when your parents go away on any more overnight trips, you're welcome to stay here. I know you've said they have gone away for the weekend before. The door is always open, so if you want to stay with us while they're away that's no problem.”

I looked up at Mr. Winchester. “Thank you.” I said. “That's really nice of you.” He patted my shoulder and smiled at me. 

 

 

The time had come for me to go back to my parent's house. I had my bags packed and ready to go.

Sam came up to me and hugged me tightly. “I don't want you to go!” he said, tears starting to run down his face.

I smoothed his hair back from his face.”I'll be back tomorrow morning, I promise!” I said. “Get a good night's sleep.”

He let go of me and then Dean came over to me. I leaned down and we hugged. His eyes were shining with tears too, and he bit his lip. “See you tomorrow, Kate.” he said hopefully.

“You bet!” I said.

Mr. Winchester said he would walk me to my parent's house and carry my suitcase. We were quiet as we walked down the street. He walked up onto the porch with me as I got out my house key.

“Well, see you tomorrow.” he said. He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. Then he looked at me and said, “Don't stay up all night reading.” He smiled at me.

“I won't.” I said. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

I went inside and unpacked my stuff. My parents came home while I was in my room.

I walked out to the living room. “Hi Mom, did you have a good time?” I asked.

“Oh, there you are, Katie.” my mother said. “Help Charles bring in the bags.” 

My father's driver was standing at the trunk of the car.

“Hi Charles,” I said. “Can I help?”

“Oh, no, Miss Katie, I've got this.” he smiled warmly at me.

“Well, my mother told me to help you.” I told him.

“Oh. Well, here, these bags aren't that heavy. “ he handed me a garment bag and a messenger bag. 

I carried them in and my mother said, “Take those back to the bedroom.” 

My father was in the bedroom, pacing, and talking on his cell phone. He glanced at me and nodded briefly at me as I put the bags down on the bed.  
I walked back out to the living room.

“Thank you, Charles,” my mother said. “We'll see you in the morning.”

“So, how was it? What was it like on the ship? Did you stop anywhere?” I asked her.

She sighed. “Katie, I'm tired, and I'm going to go take a long hot shower. We'll talk about it tomorrow.”

She turned and went down the hall to their bedroom.

I sighed and went to my room and got into bed. I didn't even read, I wanted to fall asleep quickly so that morning would get here as soon as possible and I could go back to the Winchesters.

 

 

The next morning I practically ran to the Winchester's house. As I let myself in the door, Sam came barrelling into me. “Kate!” he said happily, throwing his arms around me. I hugged him and lifted him off the ground. 

We walked over to the kitchen table. Dean was standing at the fridge, getting out a carton of orange juice, and he put it on the table and then came over to me and hugged me. 

“Hi, Kate!” he said, smiling at me. Mr. Winchester walked into the kitchen and gave me a big smile too. “Hi, Kate.” he said, and he also came over to hug me. It felt nice to have them be so happy to see me and get hugs from all three of them. 

“The boys have already eaten but we saved you some eggs and sausage.” Mr. Winchester told me.

“Thanks, guys!” For some reason, that really made me feel good, and a little sad. With my parents, it was right back to the routine of them leaving early in the morning and me being alone. 

“I won't be coming home early today, but you can call me if you need to.” Mr. Winchester said. “Behave, you three. And Sam, you will rest this afternoon, won't you?”  
“Yes sir.” Sam said glumly.

Mr. Winchester dropped kisses on all three of our heads and then left for work. 

Sam looked at me. “Can we make cookies today?”

“Sure, Sam. What do you want to make?”

“Snickerdoodles! They're my favorite!”

“Let me get the butter out.” I said.

“Sit down and eat first!” Dean said, walking over to the stove. He carefully opened the oven door and put an oven mitt on, then took out a plate. He brought it over to the table and set it down in front of me.

I looked at him. “Thank you.” I said. “That's very sweet.”

After I ate, Dean cleaned up the breakfast dishes and I got out the ingredients for the cookies. Sam helped me measure and pour, and Dean sat at the table and talked to us. He helped roll the dough into balls when the time came.

We went into the living room to watch cartoons while the cookies baked, and Sam fell asleep on the sofa. Dean and I finished making the cookies and then played War again while we waited for Sam to wake up. He slept for most of the afternoon, so I made him lunch when he woke up. 

Mr. Winchester came in and I told him, “Sam had a long nap today and actually ate lunch about an hour ago, so he may not be hungry for dinner.”

“I'm glad he didn't give you any trouble about resting today.”

“I guess I have to go now.” I said.

“Boys, come say goodbye to Kate!” Mr. Winchester called.

They came into the kitchen, looking sad again. Sam had tears in his eyes.

“I'll see you tomorrow, Sam.” I told him. I hugged them, and then went to my parent's house.

 

 

That night I was in my room after I had made dinner. Both my parents were actually home, and they told me about their trip. My father had done a lot of political networking, so listening to him talk about that was boring, but my mother told me about some of the places they visited.

“Katie!” my father called me. I left my room and went into the kitchen. He was standing in front of the refrigerator.

“Where is all the meat that I bought before we left?” He stared at me.

“Well, when I went to stay with the boys I took a lot of the food with me, so we could eat it rather than let it spoil.”

“You could have put it in the freezer, you know!” he retorted angrily.

I didn't understand his anger. “I wanted to give it to them as kind of a payment for them watching me while you were gone.”

“That is not your decision to make!” he yelled. “I spent a lot of money on that food, and I expected it to be here when I got back!” 

“I'm sorry!” I retorted. “I didn't know that that was what you wanted! If you had talked to me—”

“Watch your tone, young lady!” he snapped. He looked at me, narrowing his eyes. “Where is your babysitting money?”

“What? Why?”

“I'm taking it to pay for all the food you gave away.”

“I didn't give it away! We ate it!” 

He turned and started to walk to my room. I followed him.

“Dad, that's my money! This isn't fair!” 

He walked into my room and took my jewelry box off of the dresser, and turned it upside down. The top opened up and a bunch of jewelry fell out all over the dresser and floor, and the cash that Mr. Winchester had given me.

“Stop it!” I yelled. 

He turned and backhanded me across the face. He wore a heavy gold ring with a large green stone in it on that hand, and I felt the ring smack against my cheek.  
“More and more I'm starting to think that boarding school would be a good idea for you.” he said viciously. He picked up the cash off the dresser and put it in his pocket, then he stalked out of the room.

I put my hand to my face and started to cry. My cheek was throbbing. How could he do that to me? Why did he take my money?

 

In the morning, when I went to the bathroom, I saw there was a purple bruise on my cheek. I felt embarrassed because it was very noticeable. I didn't wear makeup, so I had no way of covering it up. I briefly considered going into my mother's room and using some of her makeup, but I had no idea how to put it on and me wearing makeup would be just as noticeable.

 

When I walked into the Winchester's house, Mr. Winchester was the only one awake. He was at the stove cooking bacon. He glanced at me.  
“Good Morning,” he said. “The smell of bacon should get Dean out of bed momentarily.”

I started to walk over to the table. He turned to me, and then looked at me for a long moment.  
“Kate, what--?” He put the spatula down on the counter and walked over to me, took my chin in his hand, and turned my head to look at my cheek. Then he let go and looked me in the eyes. “What happened?” he asked emphatically. 

Tears came to my eyes. I turned my head to the side. “Nothing.” I whispered. “Don't worry about it.”

“No, I need to know what happened. Who hit you?” He looked at me intently.

I looked down at the table. “My- my father. He was angry because I took the food he had bought while they were gone, and brought it here for us to eat.” The tears dripped down my cheeks as I remembered him yelling and dumping out my jewelry box.

Mr. Winchester sighed. “Well, that was-- ridiculous. I'm sorry that he hit you. Has he ever done that before?”

“No.” I said, and the fact that he had hit me for the first time in my life made me start to sob.

Mr. Winchester pulled me into a hug. “I'm so sorry, Kate. You didn't deserve that.” 

I put my arms around him and hugged him back, and he held me for a couple minutes until I calmed down.

“What's wrong?” Sam stood in the kitchen doorway. Mr. Winchester let go of me and turned to Sam.

“Kate's sad because her father hit her.” he said. He walked over to Sam and picked him up for a hug. “We need to be extra nice to her today, all right?”

Sam looked at me and his eyes got big when he saw the bruise on my cheek. “I don't like your dad.” he said. “He's mean.”

Mr. Winchester put Sam down. I noticed that this time he didn't reprimand Sam for saying that. Sam and I sat down at the table and Mr. Winchester returned to the stove. A few minutes later I glanced at him, and he was watching me, with his lips pressed together.


	13. Chapter 13

Before he left for work, Mr. Winchester motioned for me to follow him into the living room. “Listen, Kate.” he said. “I want you to tell me if your father hits you again.”

“It's not a big deal.” I said dully. “I mean, you hit your kids too, right?”

“It is a big deal.” he said. “And there's a huge difference between spanking your kids' butt a few times and slapping their face so hard you leave a bruise. When I spank the boys, it's to correct misbehavior, and it's not done in anger. Your father was angry and irrational and you were defending yourself and he hit you, for no good reason.”

“I guess.” I said.

“You said he's never done that before, right? And your parents never spanked you?”

“No, they just lectured me and made me stay in my room all the time.”

“Well, the fact that he hit you out of the blue is concerning in itself.” He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “Please, promise me that you'll tell me if he does anything else.”

“Okay. I promise.” I said. He hugged me briefly and said, “I've got to get to work.” 

 

We walked down the The Circle to see if there was anyone there. There were only a couple of kids there, drawing with sidewalk chalk, and we joined them for a while. Tim came out of his house and opened the garage, then wheeled out a basketball hoop. Jake and his brother Jesse came walking up with a basketball.  
The boys and I went over to them and Tim showed the boys how to throw the basketball.

“Sam, how are you feeling?” Jesse asked.

“Good.” Sam said.

“He gets tired quickly.” I told them. “How are you doing, Jesse?”

“I'm fine.” he said. He threw the ball and it went straight into the middle of the hoop. “He shoots; he scores!” 

“Our uncle thinks it's some weird government plot.” Jake said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He rolled his eyes. “Like a way to test some sort of illness on the population. He believes in conspiracy theories and all that weird stuff.”

“Oh. That is weird.” I said, wondering what he would think if I told him what had actually happened.

“Kate, some of us meet on the corner in the evenings to hang out, if you want to join us.” Tim said. “We usually go over to my buddy's house and play video games. He's got a Playstation and a Wii.”

“Thanks.” I said. “You mean the group that hangs out under the street lamp?”

“Yeah.” Tim threw the ball at the hoop and missed.

I laughed. “My father says that that group is a bunch of hooligans. They were tallking about how to keep the kids off the corner at the last Neighborhood Watch meeting.”

“Yeah, and I'll bet that my cranky old neighbor was there too.” Jake shook his head. “We aren't doing anything wrong, you know? Just hangin' out.”

“And we can't help it if someone just happens to bring a bottle of something and passes it around!” Jesse grinned.

“Shut up, Jesse!” Jake said, nodding at Sam. 

“Oh.” Jesse said.

“I'll think about it.” I shrugged. 

“The party for the kids is going to be on Saturday, starting at about 10 o' clock.” Tim told us. “Everyone is supposed to bring food.”

“I'll bake some cookies.” I said.

“Can I help too, Kate?” Sam asked.

“Of course, we can make them on Friday.” I looked at him. “Sam, you look kind of pale. How are you feeling?”

“I'm kinda tired.” he said. 

“Why didn't you say something?” I asked him.

“ 'Cause I like to be out here.” he said. 

“We should go home so you can rest.” 

He sighed in a defeated way. “Okay.” his shoulders slumped.

I laughed. “It's not that bad! Come on, let's go,”

We said goodbye and walked back to the boy's house. While Sam was waiting for me to make lunch, he fell asleep on the sofa again. Dean and I played cards together in the kitchen until Mr. Winchester came home.

“How did things go today?” he asked.

“Fine.” I told him. “Sam is still asleep.”

“We went to the Circle for a while and Tim showed us how to shoot hoops!” Dean told his Dad.

“Oh yeah? How'd you do?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“Okay. I like to play baseball better.” Dean said.

“They're going to have the party on Saturday starting at 10. I said I would bring cookies.”

“Of course!” Mr. Winchester smiled at me. 

 

 

On Saturday, we walked down to the Circle shortly after 10:00. My parents were away for the weekend at a conference, so I was staying with the Winchesters again. I walked over to the table with all the food and gave one of the women the containers of cookies. 

“These look good, thank you!” she said.  
I walked back over to where the boys were standing with their Dad at a table. Jenny had a big terrarium set up.  
“Look, Dean, it's the tadpoles from before!” Sam said excitedly. “They turned into frogs!”

“Tadpoles? What tadpoles?” Mr. Winchester asked, looking down at Sam.

“She found tadpoles at the stream behind her house!” Sam said, pointing at Jenny's house. “We went to see them!”

“What?” Mr. Winchester turned and looked at all of us. 

I glanced over at Dean, and saw that his face looked as tense as I felt. With everything that had been happening recently, I had totally forgotten that we went to the stream. 

“Daddy, it's not the bad part of the stream.” Sam explained. “It's in her back yard and they keep it cleaned up.” 

“Sam, that's not the point!” Mr. Winchester said tightly. “What's the rule?”

Sam looked up at him. “We aren't allowed to go to the stream.”

“Right. It's not, 'you're allowed to go to part of the stream'.” Mr. Winchester turned to Dean. “When was this?”

“A couple days before Sam got sick,” Dean shuffled his feet and looked at the ground.

“And you all went?” Mr. Winchester turned to look at me. “Kate, you knew about this too?”

“Yes sir.” I said, staring at the table. I couldn't meet his eyes, I felt so guilty. I bit my lip as tears came to my eyes.

He sighed. “All three of you are in trouble.” he said. “I'm very upset with you. When we get back tonight, I'll be having a talk with each of you.” He turned and walked away.

“A talk?” I asked Dean.

Dean looked at me. “He means a talk between his hand and your butt.”

“Oh. You mean... a spanking?” He was going to spank all of us? I swallowed nervously. 

Dean sighed. “Yeah. When we break a rule, we get spanked.” 

I sighed. That was not going to be fun. 

“Sam, you weren't s'posed to say anything!” Dean said to him.

“Oh, I forgot.” Sam looked guilty. “Sorry.”

“Well it's too late now!” Dean hissed. “Now we're all gonna get it!”

Sam took my hand. “Sorry Kate.”

“I shouldn't have let you go.” I said. “And we should have said something to your Dad.” 

Charlie came over to us. “Hey, my mom set up a water balloon fight in my back yard, come on!” 

We followed him into his yard where several other kids already were. There was a woman filling balloons with a hose, and she said, “Grab some and pick a side.”   
There was a rope across the yard and kids were gathering on both sides. When everyone had a couple of water balloons, Charlie's Mom called out, “Ready...GO!” and everyone started throwing the balloons at people of the other side of the rope. Eventually it became a free-for-all with people running and grabbing more balloons and running right up to people and throwing them point-blank. All three of us got drenched, and it was a lot of fun. 

Someone else had Badminton set up in their back yard, and Tim's family had set up the basketball hoop in their driveway. One of the moms had set up a craft table for the younger kids too. I played Badminton for a while with some of the older kids, and then the grownups said that lunch was ready. Two people had brought their grills out to The Circle and had been cooking hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken. 

As we walked around the side of the house, Jake caught up to me. “You gonna come hang out with us some night?”

“Maybe.” I said. 

“This is Lauren,” Jake said, nodding at the girl walking next to him. “Her and her sister were in the hospital too. She comes with us.”  
“Yeah, you should come hang with us.” Lauren said. “We need some more girls.”

“Okay, I'll think about it.” I agreed.

Sam ran up to me, holding something in his hands.

“Look what I made!” he said proudly. “It's called a God's Eye!” It was two popsicle sticks in a plus shape that had yarn woven around them in a colorful pattern.   
“That's really neat, Sammy.” I said.

He looked up and grinned at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You called me Sammy. Only Daddy and Dean call me that.”

“Oh, sorry--”

“That's okay, you can call me that too, I don't mind.” He threw his arms around my waist and hugged me. 

“Thanks.”I said, feeling warm inside. I hugged him back.

We found Dean and Mr. Winchester and stood in line to get food. Sam started yawning while we were eating, so Mr. Winchester took Sam back to their house for a nap and Dean and I stayed at the Circle and hung out with the other kids. When it got closer to dinner time people started to go home. Jake's Dad gave me a plate with hot dogs and hamburgers on it and a container of potato salad. 

“Take this home, and you won't have to cook dinner tonight.” he told me.

“Thank you.” I said.

“Dean, tell your Dad I said thanks for the help with my Jeep.”

“Okay.” Dean said. 

 

When we walked into the kitchen, Mr. Winchester had a gun spread out on the kitchen table, and he was cleaning it. Sam sat in a chair, talking to him. 

“Mr. Jackson gave us some food for dinner.” I held up the plate and container.

Mr. Winchester glanced at me. “Good. I'll heat it up after I finish up here.”

“Are there any cookies left?” Sam asked.

“Everyone ate the cookies that I brought.” I told him. “But I saved some for us!” I walked over to the pantry and took out a container of cookies that I had put to the side.

“Yay!” Sam said happily. “Thanks, Kate!”

The boys and I went into the living room and watched tv for a while. I found a marathon of one of the baking competitons that I liked to watch.   
Mr. Winchester came in after a few minutes. “What is this show?” he asked.

“It's a cooking competition. The winner gets their own cooking show.”

“I like the other show we watched where the guy explains how to cook stuff.” Dean said. 

“You should be on a show like this, for baking, Kate. You would totally win!” Sam said, looking at me.

I laughed. “I don't know that much about baking. I have a lot to learn yet.” 

Mr. Winchester let us eat in front of the t.v. so we could keep watching the show. After a couple more episodes, he said, “It's almost time for bed, and we still need to talk about the stream.”

He turned off the t.v., then stood up and looked down at us for a long moment.

“Who is going to tell me about when you went to the stream?” he asked.

“Uh--” Dean glanced at me. “We were at the Circle, and Jenny showed us the tadpoles that she got from the stream behind her house. And she said there were lots, so we could probably take some too.”

“She said that her family keeps that part of the stream clean cause it's in her yard.” Sam piped up. “So there's no trash or anything. It's safe.”

“Samuel, that is not the point!” Mr Winchester pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment and closed his eyes. “I don't know what I have to say, or do, to make it clear that the rule is, you are NOT allowed to go to the stream, any part of it!”

He looked at me. “Did any of you say to yourselves, or each other, 'we shouldn't do this'? Kate?” 

“Um, Dean and I both said we shouldn't go.” I squirmed under his intense scrutiny. 

“Two of you said you shouldn't go? Then why did you?” He put his hands on his hips.

“Uh, it just kinda...happened.” Dean shifted uncomfortably.

“I'm sorry, what? What do you mean, it just happened?”

“Well, the other kids started walking across the yard, and we just kinda...followed.” Sam said.

“So you just followed the crowd. All three of you.”

“Yes sir.” I said, realizing how dumb that sounded.

He sighed. “That's just great. And if there was a crowd of kids walking off of a cliff, would you follow them too?” He turned and walked a couple steps away, muttering, “I can't believe I just said that to my kids.” 

I took a deep breath. “I'm sorry, Mr. Winchester. I should have said no and stood my ground, I am their babysitter and I'm supposed to be the one in charge.”

He walked back over to us and looked at me. “Yes.” he said. “I'm disappointed in all three of you, that you think you can continue to break this rule, but I'm disappointed in you, Kate, most of all. I'm relying on you to keep my boys safe, and to make sure that they follow the rules. And finding out that you allowed them to break a rule, and went along with it, is very disappointing. It makes me feel like I can't trust you.”

When he had started talking my eyes had filled with tears. But when he said the last sentence the tears spilled over. I hated knowing that he was disappointed in me.

“You can trust me, Mr. Winchester, I'm really sorry.” I said. 

“I'll have to think about that.” he said. I let out a little sob.

He sighed. “Boys, go to your room, I'll be there in a few minutes. Start getting ready for bed.”

They stood up and glanced at me. I offered them a small smile through my tears.

Mr. Winchester sat next to me on the sofa. “I told you before that you would get the same consequence as the boys.” he said. “And the consequence for breaking a rule is a spanking.”

“Uh, I—I know.” I stared down at my hands twisting nervously in my lap. I looked up at Mr. Winchester. “I don't know what I was thinking before, I just walked with them to the stream, even though I knew it was wrong. I'm really sorry.” I said again, wiping my face off.

“You made a bad choice.” he said. “And now you have to deal with the results of that choice. And I think you're still not used to having rules and consequences.”  
I nodded. He took my arm and pulled me toward him. I whimpered a little and pulled back slightly. 

“Kate,” he said firmly. “Let's get this over with.” He pulled me down over his lap and said, “I want this to be the last time I have a discussion about going to the stream with all of you.”

I started crying again as his hand fell on my bottom for the first time. I counted 14 hard swats, and then he rested his hand on my back for a moment.   
“I'll make sure we never go to the stream again.” I sobbed out. 

He helped me sit up on his lap. “I know you want to do the right thing. You're a good girl, you just need to remember the rules.” He hugged me until I had calmed down, and then patted my back. 

“I need to go deal with the boys now.” He said. I got up and curled up on the sofa as he left the room. I heard the bedroom door open and then Dean came out of the room and went into the bathroom. After a few minutes, Dean went back into the bedroom and Sam came out, sniffling, and went to the bathroom. 

“Bedtime, Kate.” Mr. Winchester called. I went to the bedroom and got my pajamas out and got ready for bed in the bathroom. 

The boys were in bed when I came back into the room. I hugged and kissed them and then got into the other bed. I was too tired to read. Mr. Winchester hugged and kissed the boys, then he came over and leaned down to hug me. As he pulled the covers up, he said, “I'm glad you're here with us again, Kate.”

“Me too.” I said, and I smiled at him.

 

 

The next morning while we were eating breakfast, Mr. Winchester said, “How about we go out to the woods today for some practice with the bow? We can show Kate how it's done.”

“Yeah!” Dean said happily. 

“You mean, you'll teach me how to shoot a bow and arrow?” I asked. 

“We'll see if you like it.” Mr. Winchester said. 

“Wow, I've never done that.”

He told us to wear long pants and long sleeved shirts since we were going to be walking in the woods. 

We waited while he set up some targets in a clearing. Dean was holding the child-sized bow. 

“I wanna try again.” Sam said.

“You will, but I'm going first.” Dean told him.

Sam and I watched as Mr. Winchester coached Dean through holding the bow properly and shooting the arrow. After a couple of tries, Dean's arrows consistently hit the target. 

“You've got a great eye, son.” Mr. Winchester said, ruffling Dean's hair. 

“Me next!” Sam said. It was harder for him, he still didn't have his strength back, and he had trouble pulling the bow string back far enough. He got frustrated and threw the bow down on the ground. 

“Samuel.” Mr. Winchester's voice was hard. He took Sam's shoulders in his hands and bent down. “I know you're upset, but you must not throw weapons down like that. If that had been a gun it could have gone off. It's unsafe. If you do that again I will spank you. Is that clear?”

Sam nodded, biting his lip and trying not to cry. Mr. Winchester let go of him and straightened up.

“Go sit down over there for a couple minutes and calm down.” he pointed at a fallen log. Sam walked over to it and sat, putting his head down. I felt bad for him, and started to walk over.

“Kate, you want to give it a try?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“Um...okay.” I said, Dean walked over to Sam and sat down, talking quietly to him.

Mr. Winchester showed me how to stand and where to put my hands on the bow. He talked me through putting the arrow up and onto the string, and then releasing it. The first one went straight into the ground. 

“Keep trying.” he said. He handed me another arrow. After a couple more tries, I was hitting the outer edges of the target, and the more I shot, the closer I got to the bullseye. I was surprised at myself, because I had never done anything like this before and I would never have thought I had any skill to do it well. 

“Good job, Kate.” Mr. Winchester said, patting my shoulder. 

Dean and I took turns shooting for a while and Mr. Winchester moved the targets back a ways. Dean was better at it than I was. Sam refused to try and shoot any more, and then began to complain that he was bored. 

We packed everything up and on the way back to the car, Mr. Winchester pointed out the different types of plants that were in the forest and told us about them. I had had no idea that there were so many different types of leaves and plants. 

Mr. Winchester took us to a diner to eat for lunch. 

“Maybe Kate can go with us the next time we go camping.“ Dean said. 

“We'd have to ask her parents.” Mr. Winchester sipped his coffee.

“They won't care if she goes.” Sam colored on his placemat and glanced at me. “They never care.”

“Sam.” Mr. Winchester raised his eyebrow at Sam.

“Kate should just live with us all the time.” Sam sat up and threw his crayon down on the table. “They're never home an' then when they are, they're mean to her! It's not fair!” 

I was surprised to see tears in Sam's eyes. I put my hand on his shoulder. “Sammy, it's okay.” I said. “I see you almost every day, right?”

“Yeah, but then you have to go home and you're by yourself...it make me sad.” 

“I'm used to it, it's okay, really.” I said. “And I feel better knowing that I'm going to be seeing you guys the next morning.”

Sam threw his arms around me and buried his face in my side. I put my arms around him and hugged him back. “I love you, Kate.” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

“I love you too, Sam.” I told him. 

 

 

Ever since my father had hit me I felt like I was on eggshells around my parents. I barely spoke to them and they didn't seem to notice. I made dinner and did laundry and cleaned the house in the evenings when I was home; my parents made phone calls and did paperwork. One night we heard loud noises outside and my mother opened the front door to see what it was.

The group of kids was standing on the corner, talking and laughing loudly, and there was a fancy car parked at the curb, revving its engine. My father stomped out of the house and walked over to them; I don't know what he said, but when he came back they all left. 

When he came back into the house he said, “I told them they were loitering and disturbing the peace and if they didn't want police records they would disperse right away. The words 'police record' got their attention.” he said self-righteously.

“They're just hanging out there.” I said. “All they're doing is talking.”

My father glared at me. “Do any of those kids go down to the circle? I told you I didn't want you hanging out with hooligans!” 

“Who cares if they do? They're not doing anything wrong!” I exclaimed.

“Don't talk back to me!” my father snapped. “They're a bad element, and they need to be gone! Now get out of my sight and go to your room!”

I sighed and walked to my room. Some of the kids on the corner did hang out at the Circle. Jake and Jesse and Tim had always been nice. I started to feel angry. My father, and the other grownups, were being mean and judgemental. Jake was right, they weren't doing anything wrong. I decided that the next time they met on the corner, I would go over and hang out with them. I'd show my father. 

 

Two nights later my parents were at a late-night strategy meeting. I saw the group start to gather on the corner, and I walked slowly over to meet them. Jesse and Tim were there, and a couple other people I recognized. 

“Jake's grounded for a couple more days.” Jesse told me. “Mrs. Smith yelled at him and he told her to get stuffed.” A couple of the kids laughed. 

“Let's go over to Brett's house.” Tim said. I followed the group as we walked. We walked down the street opposite my street and then went up the hill. Brett's house had a huge finished basement with a two large screen tvs and two gaming systems set up, plus a pool table and foosball. There was a bar and full sized refrigerator as well. I had never played any video games, so Jesse and Lauren showed me how to play a dancing game on the Wii. It was fun, but a lot of hard work, and I was sweating when I was done. 

“Want some of this?” Brett held up a brown glass bottle.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Beer.” he said.

“No thanks, just some water.” I told him.

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged and got me a glass of water. “There's beer in the fridge if you want. My parents don't mind if we drink as long as we do it down here and don't leave. They're trying really hard to be the cool parents.”

I sat and listened to them talking. Jesse and Tim played sports at school and were talking about tryouts at the end of the summer.  
“Have you done any more with baseball?” Jesse asked me.

“No.” I said.

“You should, and then your father could sponsor a team.” He told me. 

“I'm not really into sports. And he only likes to do stuff if he gets something out of it.”

“Oh. It would be advertising for him.” Jesse said. 

The kids that were playing a racing game on the Wii all yelled as the game ended. 

“What time is it?” I asked.

“Almost one AM.”

“I should go.” I said. “I've got to babysit tomorrow.”

“Okay, I'll walk you home.” Jesse said. “See you guys around.”

“Thanks for inviting me.” I called as we left. I felt vindicated. No one had done anything wrong. My father was wrong about these kids.


	14. Chapter 14

“Ready, Sammy?” Mr. Winchester asked. Sam nodded, and we got out of the car. 

Sam had to go back to the doctor's for a recheck, and they were going to draw some blood. I had said I would stay home with Dean, but Sam had insisted that we both come with him.

Sam fell into step between Dean and me and took our hands. 

“It'll be okay, Sam.” I told him. We walked into the doctor's office together and sat down in the waiting room while Mr. Winchester checked in at the front desk.   
When the nurse came out and called Sam's name, we all stood up, and she laughed. “All of you are coming back? I don't know if we have any rooms big enough for the whole family.”

“I'm not going unless they come too.” Sam said decisively.

“All right, we'll work around it.” The nurse shook her head. She weighed Sam and checked his height and his temperature, then led us into a small room that was decorated with jungle animals.

“Up on the table, young man.” she said. Sam tried to climb up on the table, and Mr. Winchester said, “Use the stool, Sam.” 

There was a little step-stool under the table. Sam managed to get on the table by himself.

“How's he been doing, Dad?” the nurse asked. 

“He's doing well.” Mr. Winchester said. “He still gets tired out a little easily, but we're making sure he rests.”

“Good. Appetite okay?”

“Yes.”

“Anything else happening?”

“No, he's back to normal.” 

The nurse wrote something down on a clipboard and then looked at Sam. “The doctor will be in in a few minutes.”

“Dean, sit with me.” Sam said. Dean walked over and jumped up on the table next to Sam. They started swinging their feet fast, and then Dean pushed Sam's feet with his, and Sam pushed him back, laughing. Dean moved his leg and pushed Sam's leg so hard that Sam fell over slightly.

“Boys!” Mr. Winchester said. “Don't start rough-housing in here!”

“Okay Dad.” Sam said, still laughing. He pushed Dean with his hands and Dean started to fall off the table. 

“Sam!” Mr. Winchester stood up. “Dean, get over here.” he said sternly. “Sit down right here.” He pointed on the floor next to him. 

There was a knock on the door and the doctor came in. She was a plump older woman with short hair. “We've got the whole family here today, huh?” she said with a laugh. 

“I don't like needles.” Sam said. “Or doctors.”

“So you want your brother and sister here for moral support? That's fine.” She smiled at him. She looked Sam over while asking Mr. Winchester the same questions that the nurse had asked. 

“Well, he looks great.” The doctor said. “All of the kids that were in the hospital have had a full recovery, which is wonderful. We still don't know what was causing it.”

“Maybe it was some kind of virus.” Mr. Winchester said.

“That's a possibility.” the doctor said. “Okay, Sam, I know you said you don't like needles, but we need to get some blood now. Are you okay with that?”

“No.” Sam said. 

The doctor chuckled. “Well, at least he's honest. The nurse will be in to draw blood in a couple minutes.”

Ten minutes later, it was apparent how NOT okay Sam was with needles. Another nurse had to come in, and she and Mr. Winchester were holding Sam down on the exam table as he cried and screamed. 

Dean and I were standing by Sam's head, trying to talk to him and distract him. 

“I need you to take a deep breath, Sam.” the nurse said. “Take a breath and relax for me.”

“Sammy, what kind of ice cream do you want?” Dean asked, and his voice sounded desperate. Mr. Winchester had said we could go out and get ice cream after we left the doctor's office. 

“Let me go!” Sam grunted as he strained against the nurse's arms. 

“Be brave, Sam.” I said encouragingly. “You can do this.”

He turned his head and looked at me. “No I can't.” He said, biting his lip. “Sing something, Kate.”

“Um, what do you want me to sing?” I asked nervously.

“The song about the blooming heather.” he said. 

“Oh. Okay.” I cleared my throat, and sang softly,   
“O the summer time has come  
And the trees are sweetly bloomin'  
And the wild mountain thyme  
Grows around the bloomin' heather  
Will ye go lassie, go?”

“Got it!” said the nurse, standing up. “We're done.” 

The other nurse and Mr. Winchester let go and stood up, and the nurse put a band-aid on Sam's arm. Sam sat up, holding his arms out, and said, “Daddy-”. Mr. Winchester picked him up and held him tightly, murmuring quietly to Sam and rubbing his back.

The nurse touched my arm. “You did a good thing, young lady.” She smiled at me.

Mr. Winchester came over to me and squeezed my shoulder. “Thank you, Kate.” he said. 

“We're finished here. The results should be in in a few days, if you don't hear anything from us you can assume everything is fine. We only call if there's a problem.” She opened a cabinet and took out a small plastic bucket. “Can Sam have a lollipop?” she asked.

“Go ahead, Sam.” Mr. Winchester said.

“Only if Dean and Kate can have one too.” Sam said.

“That's fine.” The nurse held the bucket out to us. We each took a lollipop and thanked her. 

“Thank you.” Mr.Winchester said. “We ready to go?” Dean and I followed him out to the car and he carried Sam. 

On the way home, we went through a drive-through and Mr. Winchester got ice cream cones for the three of us. I was sitting in the back seat behind him, and I saw him looking at me in the rear-view mirror.

“Are you okay, Kate? You look tired.” he said.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” I told him. 

“You're not staying up late reading, are you?” he asked, a little sternly.

“Uh, no.” I felt myself blushing a little. I wasn't going to tell him that I had been going over to Brett's house in the evenings with Jake and his brother, and staying there until midnight or later. 

I knew my father would disapprove, but I wasn't sure what Mr. Winchester's opinion would be, and I wasn't sure I wanted to find out. I didn't care if my father was disappointed in me, but the realization that Mr. Winchester might also be disappointed in me made me reconsider what I was doing. 

“Would you mind dropping me off at my house?” I asked. “I've got to start this big dinner, and its going to be a lot of work.”

“No problem.” Mr. Winchester said. When he pulled up to the curb, I hugged the boys.

“I'll see you Monday.” I told them. 

 

I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher after the meal. My father and his co-workers had gone into his study to have cigars and whiskey. My mother was putting away the leftovers when my father walked in. He got the ice bucket out of the cabinet and filled it from the refrigerator.

“The meal was very bland.” he said. “And the chicken was dry. Next time I'll just have dinner catered.”

I turned around and said, “You're welcome. I guess the fact that I worked for three hours cooking, and used a recipe that Mom gave me, don't count for anything.”

Dad walked up to me and grabbed my arm, hard. “You will watch your tone with me.” he said. He glared at me for a long moment, squeezing my arm, and I looked down at the floor, getting scared. After a moment he let me go and grabbed the ice bucket off the counter. “Join us.” he said to my mother as he left the room.

I turned back to the sink. 

“Katie, you shouldn't antagonize your father like that.” My mother said with disappointment in her voice.

“Well, maybe he should appreciate everything I do around here!” I snapped. “I'm just a servant to him!”

“You know that's not true.” she said.

“Do I?” I asked her. She shook her head and left the room.

 

The next day they made me go with them. We went to my father's office and sat around with a bunch of other people, folding letters and putting them into envelopes. Well, I sat with the other people and worked, and my father walked around the room, chatting with everyone and having his picture taken. The photographer came over to me and made my parents pose with me like we were all working together. It made me angry. I felt like all I was to them was a prop for his politics, and a servant at home. I wanted to be at home, reading in my room, or at the Winchester's house with Sam and Dean. Sure, I cooked for them sometimes and I technically was working for Mr. Winchester, but they treated me like I was a person and paid attention to me.

Sunday, I curled up in bed with a book, and then in the afternoon my father yelled at me for not doing laundry. Apparently he thought that when I was home on the weekends, I should be working all the time. I bit my lip so that I wouldn't say anything and I wouldn't cry, and I cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen and did laundry the rest of the day. 

 

On Monday morning when I walked into the Winchester's house, Sam looked at me and said, “What's wrong, Kate?”

Mr. Winchester turned from the stove and Dean looked up at me from where he was sitting at the table. 

“Nothing.” I said casually. “What do you mean?”

“You look upset.” Dean said, frowning a little.

I shook my head and took a deep breath, feeling like I wanted to cry. “I'm just glad to be here is all.” I sat down next to Dean and smiled at him. 

Sam came over and hugged me, and said, “I'm glad you're here too!” I put my arm around his waist and hugged him back. 

Mr. Winchester brought a plate of bacon and a plate of scrambled eggs over to the table.

“You hungry, Kate?” he asked.

“No, I'm fine.” I said. 

“I have to go, I'm running late.” He kissed each of us on top of the head, took a couple pieces of bacon, and left. 

“What do you guys want to do today?” I asked.

“Jake said we could go to his friend's house, he has a Wii and we can play it.” Dean said. 

“Can we, Kate?” Sam asked.

“Um, sure.” I said. “Do you know who this friend is?”

“No, Jake told us about it yesterday. We went to the Circle and played basketball with him and Tim.” Dean told me. 

Jake met us when we were walking to the Circle. “C'mon, Brett said we could go to his house this week. His parents are out of town and his brother's watching him.”   
We followed Jake and Jesse caught up with us. We went into the basement and the Sam and Dean were in awe of the place. Tim was there with a couple of the younger neighborhood kids already, and they started showing Dean how to play the Wii. Sam wanted to play foosball, so I played with him, although I wasn't very good at it.

“Hey, Kate.” Brett came over to me. “Is this your little brother?”

“I babysit him and his brother.” I said. 

“My parents are gone this week, so we're having a...get- together tonight. You should come with the guys.” He smiled at me and walked away.

Sam glanced at me. “How do you know him?”

“I've, um, been here a couple times, with Jake and Jesse.” I said. 

“This is really cool!” Sam said. “Can I play the Wii too?” 

We stayed there until the late afternoon, when I noticed that Sam was getting tired and cranky. 

“Boys, we should go.” I said. “Sam, you need to take a break.”

“No I don't!” he snapped. “I want to keep playing!” He and Dean were playing a racing game together on the PlayStation. 

“After this game is over we need to go home, and get you some lunch, and you should rest.” I put my hand on Sam's shoulder.

He jerked away from me. “I don't need a nap, I'm not a baby!” he said. 

“It's cool, Sam, this stuff will be here tomorrow.” Jake said. 

I sat and watched the boys play until the game finished. 

“Let's go.” I said. 

Sam made a frustrated noise in the throat, but he got up and followed me out of the house. 

We walked back to their house and I made lunch for us. Afterwards, the three of us sat down to watch cartoons.

 

Someone was shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes. Mr. Winchester was leaning down, looking at me. “ Are you okay, Kate?” he asked.

I sat up. “Yeah, I didn't mean to fall asleep.” I rubbed my eyes and stretched. Sam was on the other end of the sofa, asleep as well. 

“All of a sudden, both of you were out!” Dean said, and laughed. 

“Sorry, Dean.” I said.

He shrugged. “ 'S okay.” he said. “I read some of my comic books.”

Mr. Winchester picked Sam up. “Hey buddy, time to wake up.” he said softly. Sam stirred in his arms and opened his eyes. “Hi Dad.” he mumbled, putting his head on his Dad's shoulder.

“Why do you smell like smoke, Sam?” Mr. Winchester frowned as he put Sam down. “Where did you go today?”

“We went to this boy's house, he's a friend of Jake and Jesse!” Sam said, perking up instantly. “He has a Playstation and a Wii, can we get a Playstation, Daddy? Please? I love the racing game!”

Mr. Winchester looked over at me. “Whose house did you go to?”

“Uh, his name is Brett. He lives over past the other side of Forest Avenue, on Woodsdale Road.” I said. 

Mr. Winchester nodded. “I know the family. That still doesn't explain why Sam smells like cigarettes.” 

“His brother is there this week watching him, and some of his friends are there too. A couple of them were smoking.” I explained.

“Wait, his brother is there watching him? Does that mean his parents aren't there?”

“Um, no, they're not.”

“So there are a bunch of college age kids with younger kids, all day and night.” Mr. Winchester folded his arms. 

“What's wrong, Dad? It's really fun! Everyone is really nice!” Dean said.

“What's wrong is that there are no parents there.”

“But his brother is an adult, he can buy beer and everything.” I said.

“And how do you know this?” he raised his eyebrow.

“Uh, I heard him talking about it.” I felt uneasy. Every time I went over there in the evenings they offered me alcohol and I always refused.

“All right, I don't want you three going back to that house. New rule, you're only allowed to go to someone's house if there are adults there. Is that clear?” He looked at all three of us.

“But Daddy, it's fun there! He has a foosball table too!” Sam said. “Please, can't we go back?”

“No, Samuel.” Mr. Winchester said sternly. “Is that clear?” he repeated.

“Yes sir.” We all mumbled.

“I'm sorry.” I said. “I didn't think there would be anything wrong with us going there.”

“Well, I'm glad I found out about it now rather than later.”

“I should go.” I said. “I'll see you tomorrow.” 

 

 

For the past three nights, I had gone to Brett's house. Every night there were more and more people there, a lot of whom I didn't know. I stayed in the basement with the kids that were my age, and Brett's brother and his friends were upstairs. They played loud music and there was apparently lots of alcohol. Brett and Jesse had snuck upstairs to try and steal some. 

Lauren and her sister and I were playing the dancing game on the Wii. Suddenly there was shouting and Brett and Jesse came running downstairs, laughing. 

“You better cut it the fuck out! Stop trying to steal our shit!” Brett's brother yelled. “I told you to stay downstairs!” He walked halfway down the stairs and glared at all of us. “Okay.” He said. “All of you need to go home. I'm tired of dealing with you and your snot-nosed friends, Brett. Get out of here.” He walked down a couple more steps. “Go on, all of you run home to your mommies!” 

“Fuck off, Taylor!” Brett muttered. 

“Brett, I'm gonna kick your ass!” Taylor and Brett glared at each other for a long moment, and then Jake said, “Come on, guys, let's go.” 

Someone turned off the tv and all of us stood up. I followed Jake and Jesse out of the house into the back yard. 

 

“We can go hang out in my yard.” Tim said.   
“Nancy and me need to go home.” Lauren said. We started to walk, a different way than I had gone before. I wasn't sure which street we were on. Jesse stopped us for a moment and pulled something out of his shirt. It was a full bottle of something called Jack Daniels. He opened it and took a long drink of it, then offered it to Jake. He took a swig and passed it around. Lauren held it out to me and I hesitated. 

“No thanks.” I said. She shrugged and drank, then her sister took it. We started walking again. Jesse and Tim started laughing and singing loudly. We turned a corner and started walking down a hill. 

“You all need to be quiet, people are trying to sleep.” said a deep voice.

We turned. I realized where we were- right outside of Mr. Winchester's house, and he was standing on the porch.

“Why don't you go to sleep, old man.” One of the boys called, and they laughed. 

“Go home.” He told them. 

We started to walk, and then I heard him say, “Kate?”

Everyone turned and looked at me. “Ooooh, Kaaaate's in troooobuuuuul!” They laughed.

I swallowed nervously and turned around.

“Come here.” Mr. Winchester called to me. 

Slowly, I walked partway up the stairs, butterflies dancing in my stomach. Was he going to be angry with me? I wasn't doing anything wrong.

“See ya!” Jake called, and they continued walking down the street.

Mr. Winchester looked down at me and folded his arms. “What are you doing out so late?” 

I stared at my feet. “Uh, walking home from a friend's house.”

“Let's go inside.” He said, opening the door. I followed him into the kitchen.

He turned to me, putting his hand on the back of a chair. “What are you doing, Kate?”

I felt a flash of defiance. “I told you, I was just hanging out with friends!” 

He gave me a look. “Kids like that do more than just 'hang out'. I know the type, I've been there before. Someone like you is liable to get hurt.”

I bristled. “Someone like me?” I asked angrily. Suddenly I was tired of always being 'the good girl'.

“You're not like them. I think you're just doing this because you're angry with your parents and you're trying to rebel.”

“What?! I-I--” I was shocked into speechlessness. I hadn't even realized that that was what I was doing, and yet he had me all figured out. 

“You smell like cigarettes. Were you smoking?”

I stared at my feet. “No.”

“I saw one of those boys had a bottle. Were you drinking?”

“No!” I snapped angrily. I had thought about trying some of what they were passing around.

“Underage smoking isn't against the law, but underage drinking is. If you got in trouble with the police, that would bring a whole mess of trouble down on your head and your father's.”

“Who cares?” I scoffed. “He doesn't care about me.”

“Well, I do, and the boys do. Since I've gotten to know you, I feel like you've become part of the family. And since your parents aren't very involved in your life, I feel like I need to step up and be your parent, because you need one.”

I scoffed again, feeling rebellious.

“I don't want to see anything bad happen to you.” He looked at me seriously. “'I'm not going to let you go down the wrong path, and I think that's where you're headed. I'm telling you, if I find out you were smoking or drinking, you will have to answer to me.”

I crossed my arms and huffed, not meeting his eyes.

“You need to really think about this, young lady.” he said sternly. “I don't want to see you out on the street this late again either. What time are your parents due home?”

“If they're not home by now then they're staying at a hotel.” I said.

“I'm going to walk you home. If they aren't home, do you want to come back and sleep here?”

“No, I'll be okay.” I said. 

The house was dark when we walked up to the porch. I got out my key and opened the door.

“Straight to bed.” Mr. Winchester said. “I'll see you in the morning.” 

“Good night.” I said, and went into the house.


	15. Chapter 15

I had finally done it. I had taken the bottle that Brett had offered me, and taken a couple of swigs as they passed it around. Everyone laughed at me, because the taste was so horrible that I choked and gasped and spit out the first mouthful. But now the burning in my throat had settled into a warmth and my head was feeling a little funny, and it was okay. 

We were standing in Brett's back yard, under the deck. There was a loud party going on in the house, and of course Brett and his friends had been banished to the basement. He had led us outside and showed us the potted bush where he had hidden a couple bottles that he had stolen from his brother. We had gotten through most of one bottle already, and Brett was holding the second bottle.

Suddenly, we heard the whooping sound that a police car makes before it turns on the siren. Brett ran over to the side of the house and then came back to us.   
“Shit, the cops just pulled up!” he said. “We've gotta get out of here!”

“Where do we go, we can't leave by the front!” Jake said in a panicked voice. 

“Come on, we can cut through the back yard, I know how we can get back to our street.” Tim told us. We followed him, sneaking through a couple of yards and staying close to the fences. I had no idea where we were again, I didn't know the neighborhood that well, but Tim seemed to know how all the yards and streets connected to each other. We emerged from a side yard and I could see that a couple people were standing on their front sidewalks, looking around. Two police cars sped by, their lights flashing. 

“Act casual,” Jake muttered as we started walking down the sidewalk. He smiled and nodded at a man and woman who were watching the police cars drive by. We walked by them and then my heart went into my throat. Mr. Winchester was standing at the end of his sidewalk! He looked at us and then his eyes widened when he saw me. “Kate?” he said. My throat went dry. I tried to smile at him and walk by. He reached out as I passed him and touched my shoulder. “Come with me.” he said sternly, and I followed him inside his house, into the kitchen. He turned and stood there, looking me up and down and then studying my face.   
“I assume that you and your...friends were leaving the house that all the police cars are going to?” he asked tightly. “Where that loud party is?”

I didn't answer him, just stared at the floor. 

“Why are you out this late again?” he questioned. “Aren't your parents home?”

I glanced up at him and then dropped my eyes. “No.” I said sullenly.

“They're away for the weekend. Again.” he said.

I nodded, still unable to meet his eyes.

“So when I asked you yesterday if your parents were going to be home, and you told me yes, you were lying to me. Since I offered to have you spend the weekend here if they weren't home, I can only assume that you had already planned to go to the party.”

The fact that he had caught me in a lie made me squirm. I knew he was going to be upset with me, and I didn't want to feel bad right now.   
I covered over my guilt with bravado. “So what?” I asked, glancing quickly at him. 

He raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me?” he said. “I told you that I didn't want you being out on the street so late. I also made a rule that you were not to go to someone's house if there were no parents there.”

“But-- but I thought that was a rule for the boys!” I protested.

“I realized I wasn't clear about it, so I let it go. But now I'm thinking that I shouldn't have, because you've gone back to that boy's house a few times now.”

I looked down and twisted the hem of my shirt in my hands. 

“You've been drinking, haven't you?” he asked abruptly. 

I didn't answer him right away.

“I asked you a question.” He said in a stern voice. 

“Yes, but... I only had a couple of sips!” I exclaimed.

“Kate...” he sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. “Do you think that makes it okay, that you only had a little bit?” 

“Uh, I guess not.” I said grudgingly. 

“Right. And we had a discussion about this already, didn't we?” 

I kept my eyes on my feet and shrugged. 

He watched me for a minute, then said decisively, “This ends tonight, young lady.”

“What do you mean?” My stomach twisted nervously.

“I mean, no more going over to this boy's house, no more going to parties, no more walking the streets late at night, and NO drinking!” His voice was emphatic.

I looked up at him, feeling annoyed that he was telling me what to do. “It's not that big of a deal!” I sassed.

“When police cars show up to the house where you are, it is a big deal!” he said, and his voice was that deeper, louder growl that meant he was getting angrier.   
“I don't know how you managed to leave before the police got there, but do you realize if you hadn't, things would be very different for you right now? You would be in the back of a police car going to the station!”

“Who cares?” I snapped, trying to seem brave. I hadn't thought about that.

He stepped close to me and took my chin in his hand, lifting my head so that I was looking at him. “I care.” he said firmly, looking into my eyes. “Your parents don't, and it's a damned shame, because you're a great kid. Somebody's got to care about you, and put up some boundaries for you, and give you some rules, and I guess that's me.” 

He let my chin go, and I looked back down at the floor again. “I told you I wasn't going to let you go down the wrong path,” he said, “and it's time to put you back on the right path.”   
He pulled the chair out from under the table and then stepped forward and took my wrist. He sat down in the chair and pulled me down over his lap. I yelped in protest, and his hand came down hard on my bottom. All the bravado, all the sass, and the buzz I had felt previously were suddenly gone. 

“I'm very disappointed that you thought it would be okay to lie to me.” he said. He swatted me again. “And that you think you can disobey me and break the rules that I make.” His hand fell two more times and I made a noise in the back of my throat.

I put my hands on his thigh and tried to push myself up off his lap. “Please, I'm sorry, I won't...I mean...” I said in a rush. “I'm sorry!”

He tilted me forward on his lap so that I had to grab the rung of the chair.   
“You need to face the consequences of your misbehavior, young lady.” He tucked me into his side and put his arm around my waist, and then he started spanking me.   
“No more staying out late. No more going to parties. No more rule breaking. You will listen to me, and obey me.” His hand fell again and again and again as he lectured, and I started to cry as the sting built up.  
“And NO more drinking!” he said in a loud, stern voice. I sobbed aloud as he brought his hand down harder for the last few swats. He rested his hand on my back as I cried and tried to get myself under control. Then he helped me up to sit on his lap. 

“You're going to behave yourself from now on, and mind me?” he asked me, putting his arms around me.

I leaned into his chest. “Y-yes sir, I w-will.” I sniffled.

“Good.” he said. “I'm going to make up the sofa for you, so that you can sleep here tonight.” he told me. 

He patted my shoulder. “Get up and sit at the table for a moment.” he said. I did so and he brought me a full glass of water and a couple of ibuprofen tablets.   
“Drink it all, so you don't have a headache tomorrow.” he told me. “Your body isn't used to drinking alcohol.”

He left the kitchen for a few minutes, and then came back in and beckoned me.  
“Come on, let's get you to bed.” he said. I followed him into the living room. He had made up the sofa with sheets and a pillow and blanket. I don't think anyone had ever done that for me; it had been one of my jobs at my parent's house to make all the beds for as long as I could remember. For some reason this made me get tears in my eyes. I put my arms around Mr. Winchester and hugged him. 

“Thank you. “ I said sincerely. He really did care about me. But why did he care, and my parents didn't?

 

I woke up hearing whispers. I heard Mr. Winchester whisper, “Let her sleep, come here.” 

My head hurt and I needed to pee. I sat up slowly and then grabbed my head- it was pounding! I stood up and lurched to the bathroom and used the toilet, splashing water on my face after I washed my hands. Then I walked slowly to the kitchen. 

All three of them were standing at the stove, and they turned when I came in.

“Aw, Kate, we were gonna make you pancakes for a surprise!” Sam said.

“Go back and lay down!” Dean made a shoo-ing motion at me with his hands. 

I looked at them, remembering last night and how sassy I had been to Mr. Winchester. It was just to cover over how scared I had been feeling, and remembering the police cars and running through people's yards brought that fear back.

I burst into tears, feeling guilty. Mr. Winchester handed the spatula to Dean and then walked quickly over to me and hugged me.

“Kate, what's wrong?' he asked, looking down at me with concern.

“I'm sorry,” I sobbed. “I was so awful to you last night!”

“No, it's all right.” he said.”You were pushing boundaries and I pushed back and set some for you. To be honest, I've been expecting it.”

“You- you have?” I looked up at his face.

“Yes, because of what's been going on with your parents.”

“Am I really that easy to read?”

He chuckled. “I think pretty much every kid goes through a rebellious stage...it's just different for you because of how your parents are.”

“I'm sorry.” I said again. He hugged me and I hugged him back.

“As long as what I said last night still stands, we're fine. You're going to keep minding me, hm?” He raised his eyebrows.

“I will.” I said. Sam came over and hugged my back.

“We were surprised to see you here, so we wanted to make a surprise for you!” he said. “Go back and lay down now!”

“Okay, I will. But I have a headache again.” I said.

Mr. Winchester went over to a cabinet and got out some medicine and gave me a glass of water and two pills. “Into the living room with you.” he said, making shooing motions.

I swallowed the pills and drank the all the water and then laid down again with my eyes closed. By the time they brought me a plate of pancakes and sausage, my headache was gone. 

Sam and Dean looked at me with proud grins on their faces and I opened my mouth to say thank you and started crying again.  
“Sorry,” I said. ”It's just...I can't remember the last time anyone made me breakfast and then brought it to me. Thank you.” I said gratefully.

Sam sat down next to me. “You do have to share, though, you know!” he said.

“Of course I will.” I said, and I ruffled his hair. 

After we ate, the boys got dressed and then Mr. Winchester said to me, “We were going to go to a park, would you like to come too?”

“Sure.” I said. 

I sat in the back seat between the boys as we drove. The windows were down and The Beatles were playing and it was a sunny day but not too hot. I looked at Sam and Dean and wondered briefly what it would be like to be their sister. I felt happy enough just being with them. 

We parked near an area with a large playground and Mr. Winchester said, “Let's do some walking first, and I'll show you the little creek.”   
We followed him through the woods, and every so often he would stop and point out a certain type of leaf or a berry or mushroom. He told us that we had to be very careful about eating things that were in the woods because a lot of them were harmful, and it was best to learn what was edible and what was not.   
We ended up in a clearing that had a creek running through it. The boys ran over to climb on the rocks. 

“Can we take our shoes off and walk in the water?” Dean asked.

“Well, all right.” Mr. Winchester said. “Bring your shoes over here.”

The boys ran over and took off their shoes. “C'mon, Kate!” Sam said. I followed him over and both boys waded right in.

Mr. Winchester came over and said, “Not too far out.” He leaned down and started picking up rocks.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Looking for a good skipping rock. Have you ever done that?”

“No.” I said. “I don't really go into the woods at all.”

“You need one that's flat.” he told me. 

I helped him look, and he found a couple of flat rocks and then showed me how to skip one. I tried it and the rock just sank. 

Sam and Dean watched us, and then came over eagerly, wanting to skip rocks too. We spent several minutes looking for rocks, and Mr. Winchester showed them how to skip rocks also. Dean picked it up quickly, and Sam's rocks sank like mine had.

“I don't want to do this any more.” he said. “I'm not good at it.”

“It can take a lot of practice.” Mr. Winchester told him. “You'll get better at it.”

“ I want to go play on the playground now.” Sam said.

“All right. You done, Dean?” Mr. Winchester asked him. 

“Okay.” Dean agreed. They put their shoes back on and we walked back to where the playground was. Mr. Winchester sat on a bench as the boys ran around with some other kids that were there. I swung on a swing with my eyes closed, feeling the breeze and the sunlight and enjoying it.

 

 

My father was actually yelling at me. When I was younger and had misbehaved, he and my mother would lecture me and tell me how wrong my behavior was and that they were disappointed in me and how I needed to act. 

But now he stood before me, pointing at me, and his voice was loud. “I have never seen such disrespect!”

“I wasn't being disrespectful!” I said. “I told Mom that that guy was pawing me, and I wasn't going to deal with it any more!”

We had gone to some sort of fancy-dress political dinner. I had had to wear an uncomfortable scratchy polyester dress and get my hair and makeup done, and then we had had to pose for photos with fake smiles plastered on our faces. As dessert and drinks were being served, a band had started playing music and people started dancing. 

My father introduced me to a boy who was some bigwig's son, and he took me out onto the dance floor. He insisted on dancing with me the old-fashioned way, with one arm around my waist and the other holding my hand. And his hand began to wander as he moved us around the dance floor. He spent the whole time talking about how he was a star athlete and had a full scholarship to college. I wasn't impressed, and I told him two times to keep his hands to himself. Then he tried to kiss me, and I walked off the dance floor. I had sat down at the table and refused to get up, and when my father started haranguing me, I hid in the bathroom until the event was over.

Now we were home, and the yelling had begun.

“He wasn't pawing you, you said he tried to kiss you! That is not a big deal! Most girls would be thrilled to be kissed by a star quarterback!”

“No, it wasn't just that. He kept-- kept--” I realized I was embarrassed, my parents and I never talked about bodies or sex or anything. 

“What?”

“He kept touching my butt, and I told him to stop! More than once!”

“He's the governor's son, he's just showing you that he appreciates a good body.”

“Ew, that is gross!” I said. “I'm not going to let some guy put his hands all over me just because of who his father is.”

My father stepped up to me. He grabbed my arms and shook me, hand. “That is where you are wrong!” he yelled. “You will do what I want you to do, and that is that! No more of this blatant disrespect!”

He let go of me. My arms were throbbing where he had grabbed me. “I've arranged for you to go on a date with this boy, next week.”

“Well you can cancel it, because I'm not going!” I snapped.

His hand shot out and smacked me in the mouth. I felt his ring connect with my lip, driving it into my teeth, and then I tasted blood. He raised his hand again and I stepped backward, tripped on the hem of my dress, and fell down on my butt. 

He reached down and grabbed my upper arm, pulling me up, then slapped me again. My head snapped to the side.

“I've never been so disappointed in you.” he snarled. “Boarding school is in your future. I'm going to see if any military academies take girls.”   
He let me go and started to walk out of the room. Then he stopped and turned back to me. “If you keep up with this attitude and disobedience, then you will be grounded to the house for the rest of the summer. No babysitting, no social life, no library,” He left the room.

I looked up at my mother, tears in my eyes. 

“Let's get some ice.” she said. “Your lip is starting to swell.” 

I got up off the floor and followed her into the kitchen. She put some ice in a baggie and handed it to me. 

“Katie, you need to do what your father says and not make him angry.” she said. She looked at me sadly, and then left the room. 

I stood there, alone in the kitchen, feeling too numb to cry.

 

The next day I walked into the Winchester's kitchen with my head down. Dean was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal. I sat down across from him and put my hand up to my mouth and my elbow on the table, leaning and trying to look casual.

Dean gave me a funny look. “Why are you hiding your mouth, Kate?” he asked.

“I'm not.” I said.

“Yeah you are.” he said. I sighed, and then put my hand down. 

His eyes went wide. “Kate, what happened?” he whispered. 

“It's nothing.” I said.

Mr. Winchester came in carrying Sam. “Good morning.” he said, and put Sam down. Then they both stared at me.

“Its nothing.” I repeated. “Don't worry about it! Stop looking at me like that!” I felt angry for a moment, but then I burst into tears. I covered my face with my hands. 

“Kate.” I heard Mr. Winchester's voice. I heard the scrape of a chair, and then felt hands on my wrists, pulling them away from my face. Mr. Winchester had pulled a chair over to sit in front of me. He was leaning forward, looking at me intently. “Kate, look at me.” he said. “Look at me, please.”

I glanced up at him. He looked concerned. “I am worried about this. You don't deserve this, and it needs to stop. Your father again?”

I nodded and my chest hitched.

He sat up. “I'm going to go talk to him tonight.”

“No, Mr. Winchester, please don't.” I said desperately.

“I can't let this keep happening to you.” he said. “Someone needs to step in.”

“Look, he said he's sending me to boarding school in the fall. Or a military academy or something. I want to spend as much time as possible with you before that!”

Mr. Winchester pressed his lips together and shook his head. “This is wrong, Kate.”

“Please don't say anything, please!” I begged. “He said if I continued to be disrespectful that I would be grounded to the house for the rest of the summer, and not be able to babysit! What if he gets mad because you talked to him and says I can't watch the boys any more?”

He sighed. “I need to think about this.”

Sam looked at me. “What's boarding school? Is that like where Sara went in that story, and she lived at the school?”

“Yes.” I told him.

Sam burst into tears. “But then we'd never see you! That's not fair! He can't do that!”

“Unfortunately he can.” I said. 

Sam looked at his father. “Daddy, why can't you adopt Kate? Why can't she live with us?”

“Sammy, it doesn't work that way. You can't adopt someone who has parents.”

“But- but it's not fair, that--”

“I'm sorry.” I said. “This is all my fault.”

“No, it's not.” Mr. Winchester said. He took my chin in his hand and made me look at him. “Do not think that, Kate. It is NOT your fault in the least.” He stood up and put the chair back under the table. “I've got to go to work now. Are you going to be all right here?”

I nodded. “I'm fine.” 

He hugged all three of us and left for work. 

I looked at the boys. “We should probably stay in today.” I said regretfully.”I don't really want to have to explain this to people.” I gestured to my bruised lip. 

“Okay, Kate.” Sam said. The boys were very nice to me for the rest of the day, asking what shows I wanted to watch and agreeing to do whatever I wanted. Dean made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for us for lunch. Every once in a while I would look at them and they were watching me with either a sad look or a worried look on their faces. I started to feel guilty for causing so much upset for them. 

 

At dinner time, Mr. Winchester walked into the kitchen with pizza boxes and a paper bag. 

“Are your parents expecting you home, or can you stay for dinner?” he asked. 

“I can stay, they're having some sort of strategy meetings all this week and are working late.”

“Good.” he smiled at me. “I got some ice cream for dessert. Chocolate is your favorite, right?”

He pulled a container of fancy ice cream out of the bag.

I felt like crying suddenly. “Please don't-- don't feel like you have to be nice to me!” 

He put the ice cream on the table and walked over to me. “Kate, I feel bad for you and I'm worried, but I imagine that you feel 100 times worse than I do. I just want to make you feel better, and make you happy for a while.”

I got tears in my eyes, and he put his hand on my shoulder. 

“Let's enjoy the food.” he said, smiling at me.

I took a deep breath and nodded. We sat down at the table together and ate. 

After Sam had finished his pizza, he left the room for a moment. When he came back he was carrying the stuffed dog he had gotten from the hospital. He held it out to me.

“Here,” he said. “Ralph made me feel happy when I was in the hospital, so I want you to take him home with you so you can look at him and think of us and feel happy.” 

I took Ralph, and then I did start crying. Sam hugged me and patted my back.

Mr. Winchester served us the ice cream and we sat on the front porch and ate it, watching the sun go down. Then I sighed and stood up.

“I guess I have to go now.” I said.

 

 

I woke up in the middle of the night, hearing talking in the living room.

“It's time to pay the piper.” said a man I didn't recognize. “Why don't you have my money?”

“I'll get it for you.” my father said, sounding desperate. “I just need more time.” 

“I've given you enough time, you're overdue. Imagine the scandal when it comes out that you've been siphoning money from the taxpayers. You'll be ruined!” the man laughed, a low, sinister sound.

“I will get it for you, don't worry about that--and you don't need to tell anyone. This stays our secret. Give me another chance.” My father was begging. I had never heard him speak that way.

“Where's the girl?” asked the man abruptly. “I'll just take her then.”

“I said I'd have your money--”

“No, I think I want her. I want to see the look on your face when I turn your only daughter.”

“What? You're going to-- to turn her?” My father sounded shocked.

“Why not?” said the voice off-handedly. “It's been almost a hundred years since I had a consort, and I like them young. I'll consider it as partial payment of your debt.”

There was a long pause.

“Katie!” my father yelled down the hall. “Katie, wake up! Get up and come out here!”


	16. Chapter 16

I walked slowly down the hall to the living room and then stood at the end, afraid to come fully into the room. My father looked bad- his hair was disheveled, his tie was askew, and his face was red. His eyes looked panicked. 

There was a man standing across the room from him, near the kitchen doorway. He was thin and pale and dressed in dark clothes. He looked me up and down, and then his lips curved up in a slow smile.

“Yes.” he said. “She will do- I should get hours of enjoyment out of her.”

“Just- just do it quickly!” My father snapped.

“Oh, no, I'm going to do it slooooww...” the man said. “That's how I like to do it.” He stared at me and licked his lips. My skin crawled and I got goosebumps.

I looked at my father. “Dad, what's—what's going on? Who is this?”

“Come here, girl.” said the man. I looked back at him. 

My head felt funny, like there was a pressure inside of it. I started to feel dizzy. I was scared, but the dizziness was making me not care. I took one step towards the man, and then another. He extended his arm to me.

“That's right.” he said. “Come here to me.” He opened his mouth, and then I saw a row of sharp white fangs come out of his upper and lower gums. 

Fear surged in me and I screamed. Was he a vampire? I wanted to turn and run, but I took another step forward. And another. It was like I had no control over my feet. The dizziness got worse as I stood in front of him. He reached for me, took my head and turned it, then stroked his other hand down the side of my neck. His hand felt ice cold and hard as he gripped the back of my neck. He bent me backwards a little bit as he leaned over me, opening his mouth wide and baring his fangs.

There was movement behind him and a loud click, and then he straightened up stiffly, pulling me to stand up straight. 

My father got an angry look on his face. 

“Winchester, what the fuck are you doing here?” he snarled.

“Let the girl go.” said Mr. Winchester. He was standing behind the vampire.

“Put your hands up where I can see them.”

The vampire let go of me and pushed me so that I stumbled away, then he held his hands up. “A gun isn't going to do a damned thing, you know.” He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“Well, this isn't your average run-of -the- mill gun. And the bullets aren't average either. They're specially made for taking out scum like you.” Mr. Winchester said.

The man laughed. “That gun has been lost for decades!”

“Well, guess who found it. I was friends with Elkins for a long time, and I found out where he had hidden it after he died.”

Mr. Winchester looked around the man at me. “Kate, I want you to go to your room, and lock the door.” he said. I took a step back. The dizziness had worn off, and now I was shaking with fear. 

“Don't you dare!” my father spat. “Katie, you are going to go with him.”

I looked at Mr. Winchester, and he gave me a small reassuring nod. I turned and walked out of the room. 

“Katie!” My father shouted. “Katie, get back here! I'll be ruined, and it will be all your fault! Get back here, you little bitch!”

I heard sounds of a scuffle, and then a loud bang as the gun went off. I shrieked in terror and ran to my room. I hurried over to my dresser and picked up a ceramic candlestick that my parents had brought me back from a trip to New Mexico- it was heavy and solid- and walked back to the door. I closed the door almost all the way, until there was just a small opening, and I gripped the doorknob in my hand so I could slam the door closed if need be. I stood there listening to the men talk.

“What the hell have you done?” My father shouted. “Now they're going to come after me!”

“They should come after you, and tear you limb from limb!” Mr. Winchester shouted back at him. “You're despicable! You allowed him to drain your wife? And you were going to give your daughter to him as payment? What kind of a man are you? Oh, that's right, the kind that hits a defenseless 13 year old girl!” His voice was hard and angry.

“What I do in my own home is my business!”

“Not when you're hurting your kid! You have some nerve, you leave her alone most of the time, she's had to practically raise herself, and then when you are here, you start smacking her around. You're a selfish coward!” 

“It is my right to do what I want with my family!” my father said self- righteously.

“Including going into business with a vampire?” Mr. Winchester said. 

“You're just a mechanic, you can't understand the inner workings of the government.” My father was contemptuously dismissive. 

“What I understand is that vampires are dangerous and not to be trusted. And apparently, neither are you! Are you fucking insane? He'd never have let you get out of your contract!” Mr. Winchester shouted. “And I've stood by and watched as that little girl almost lost her way because you're too damn involved in your career to care about her! My boys and I have become her surrogate family! She deserves so much more than what you've given her!”

“Well, you and your boys can kiss her good-bye, because she's going to a miltary academy in Southern California as soon as possible.”

“The hell she is! I'll take her from you before I let that happen! You have no business calling yourself a father!” Mr. Winchester's voice was an angry growl.

“Winchester, get the fuck out of here! I'm about to call the police and have your ass arrested! Then what will happen to your precious boys? They'll go straight into the system and you'll never see them again!”

“NOBODY threatens my kids!” Mr. Winchester's voice rose to a roar. There was a loud crash, and then I could hear what sounded like blows falling and grunting. I wondered if I should go out there, or run to my parent's room and call the police, or try to run away. 

I heard more crashes and bangs like large pieces of furniture were falling over, and I closed and locked my door and went to sit on the bed, clutching the candlestick. Every time I heard a loud noise, I flinched. 

Then suddenly I heard a loud bang, and then another. Then it was quiet.

I started to cry, fear twisting in my stomach. Had one of them shot the other? Was one of them dead? What was I going to do? 

I heard footsteps coming down the hall, and then a quiet knock on the door.

“Kate?” It was Mr. Winchester. “Kate, are you in there? Are you all right?”

I ran to the door and unlocked it, flinging it open and bursting into tears. He stood there, blood on his shirt and bruises on his face, but he was alive, and I had never felt so happy to see someone in all my life.

I dropped the candlestick and flung myself at him, sobbing. He put his arms around me and held me tightly.

“What—what was happening? Who was that man? Why was my father giving me to him?” I looked up at him. “He was going to—going to--” 

“Shh, take a deep breath.” said Mr. Winchester. 

I pulled back. “Is- it the man dead? Is my father--” I looked up at him.

“Yes, the man is dead, he was a vampire... your father is dead too. We fought, and he attacked me with a poker... I shot him. I'm sorry, Kate.”

I was shaking so hard I could barely stand. He led me over to my bed and we sat down. He put his arm around me and rubbed my shoulder.   
“That vampire was a business man, a shady one. Your father borrowed money from him and he had come to collect. Your father...well, he allowed the vampire to drain your mother.”

“What...what do you mean? Drain?” I was afraid to learn what that meant.

“The vampire drank your mother's blood...and killed her. I'm so sorry.”

“And my father was going to let him have me as payment? And he was going to...going to make me--” I gasped as my breathing got shallow and I started to panic. I looked up at Mr. Winchester, feeling like I was drowning.

“Breathe, Kate.” he told me. “Breathe slowly...take a deep breath...you're close to having a panic attack...you're safe now, nothing is going to happen... breathe...you're safe, I'm not going to let anything happen to you...deep breath...that's right...”

Slowly my breathing returned to normal.   
I started crying again. I put my hands to my face and sobbed for a few minutes. He turned toward me and put his arms around me and held me, and I held onto him tightly. Then I looked up at him. “What...what am I going to do? I don't have any relatives, all my grandparents are dead, and my father is the only one who had brothers and sisters, but they're all dead too.”

“Come with me, Kate.” Mr. Winchester said, letting me go. He looked me in the eyes. “The boys and I already feel like you're part of the family.”

I wiped my face off. “You mean, you're willing to take me in?”

He squeezed my shoulder. “Yes.” he said. “You know the boys keep asking if I can adopt you.”

“How?” I asked. “Isn't adoption really expensive, and a long process?”

“Well, I have a friend who can get you a new birth certificate with a new name, he has connections.”

“How are you going to do that? Aren't the police going to be searching for me?”

“I'm going to torch the house, and make it look like you died in the fire too. I have a friend who can help me. I need to go make a couple phone calls.”   
He looked around my room. “You need to pack some clothes and things. We're going to have to leave as soon as possible, so bring anything that's important to you.” He stood up. “Can you do that?”

I nodded. “There's a safe in my father's study, there might be some money in it.” I told him. 

“All right, I'll check,” he said. “Stay in here, I'll come and get you when I'm done.” He started to leave the room.

“Mr. Winchester?” I called.

He turned to me. “Yeah?”

“Could you- could you get the cookbooks out of the kitchen for me?” I asked hesitantly.

He smiled. “Sure, Kate.” 

I got out my suitcase and started packing clothes. I packed up some of my books and a couple of stuffed animals that had been special to me when I was a kid. I made sure I put Ralph into my suitcase too. Then I went into my mother's room and took some of the jewelry out, that she had said she was going to give to me when I got older. I went back to my room and sat on the bed, looking around. I took a couple framed photos I had of me and my parents and put them in my suitcase too. 

A short time later Mr. Winchester walked back into the room. “Ready?” he asked.

I nodded, standing up and picking up my suitcase and my tote bag full of books. 

“All right, I put sheets over the bodies, but I'd advise you not to look.” he said. We walked through the living room and I glanced back. 

I saw sheets on the floor with the shapes of bodies under them, then I noticed my mother's feet sticking out of one sheet.

“She loved those shoes.” I said. “They were her favorite pair.” Then I burst into tears again.

Mr. Winchester put his arm around my shoulder and led me outside to his car. It was dark and still and crickets were chirping.

We drove up the street to his house and he brought me inside.

“What are we going to tell the boys? “ I asked him, sitting down on the couch. I started to shake again.

“I'll tell them that your parent's house burned down, and that I rescued you. And that we're taking you with us. I'm going to be gone for a couple of hours, do you want to go lay down in my bed?” he asked.

“No, I'll stay here.” I said. “I don't think I can sleep right now.”

He left the room, and then came back with a blanket. He wrapped it around me and rubbed my arms. “Try and rest if you can. I'll be back in a while.” He left and I heard him lock the door. I started to cry again. I couldn't believe all that had happened.

 

Someone was shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked up.

“We need to get moving.” Mr. Winchester said. “Can you help me pack up the boy's clothes?”

“Yeah.” I said thickly, sitting up.

I stood up and followed him into the boy's bedroom. It was still dark outside. Mr. Winchester had a duffle bag in his hand, and he put it on the dresser.   
“Put all their clothes in here.” he told me. “We can sort through everything later.”

He walked over to Dean and woke him up. “Hey, champ, you need to wake up.” he said quietly. “We need to leave.”

Dean sat up. “Is everything okay?” he rubbed his eyes and looked up at his Dad, then he saw me. “What's Kate doing here?”

Mr. Winchester squatted down and looked at Dean. “I had to rescue her, her parents were involved with...some bad people. She's coming with us. I'm going to tell Sam that her house was on fire and I rescued her.”

“Oh. Okay.” Dean looked over at me. “Are you okay, Kate?” he asked.

“I guess.” I said, leaning over and opening another drawer.

“I need you to get dressed and grab whatever you want to take with you. You know the drill.” Mr. Winchester said to Dean. Dean got out of bed and walked over to me, dug through the duffle, and took out shorts and a t-shirt. He walked over to his bed and got dressed right there.

Mr. Winchester went over to Sam's bed. “Sam. Sammy, wake up. We need to leave.” he said, patting Sam's back. Sam stretched, his eyes closed. “Why, Daddy? It's still night time.”

“No buddy, it's the early morning. We need to go.”

Sam sighed and rolled over onto his stomach. Mr. Winchester looked at me. “I'll carry him out to the car when we're ready.” he said. 

Just then, we heard the sound of sirens down the street.

“Is that for--” I said, my throat getting tight.

Mr. Winchester nodded. Tears came to my eyes. He walked over to me and hugged me for a moment. “You almost ready?”

“All their clothes are packed.” I said, taking a deep breath. 

“Dean, you've got some stuff packed up?”

Dean stood up, shouldering a backpack. “Yes sir, I packed a bunch of my stuff and Sam's.”

“Good boy. Use the bath room and let's get out of here.”

 

We carried the bags to the living room and Mr. Winchester took them out to the car while Dean and I took turns using the bathroom. 

As I came out, Mr. Winchester walked out of the boy's bedroom carrying Sam. 

“Grab the pillows and a couple blankets.” he told me, and I went into the boy's room and took their blankets and pillows off of the beds.

Dean and I followed Mr. Winchester out to the car and he put Sam in the back seat. He took the pillows and blankets from me and handed them to Dean, who got in the back next to Sam.

“Did you get one for yourself?” Mr. Winchester looked at me.

“Oh.” I said. “No.”

“I'll be right back.” He said. He walked back into the house and I got into the front passenger seat. When he came out, he got in the car and handed me a pillow and blanket.

“Thanks.” I said. He started the car and put it in gear. As we drove away, we passed two fire trucks speeding down the street. 

I leaned my head against the window and wept silently, feeling like I would never stop shaking. 

 

 

My neck was hurting. I opened my eyes. I had been leaning against the car window with my neck bent to the side. I sat up and stretched, and Mr. Winchester glanced over at me.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, reaching over to touch my hand briefly.

I shrugged. “I don't know.” I said, turning my head to look out the window. It was light out now, and we were on a highway. 

I turned my head to look in the back seat. Dean was reading a comic book and Sam was curled up in a nest of blankets and pillows. He stretched and then opened his eyes.

“Where are we?” he asked, sitting up. “Daddy, what are we doing?” he looked at Mr. Winchester. 

“We had to leave.” Mr. Winchester said. “Kate's house burned down and I rescued her from it. She's going to come with us.”

“She is?” Sam looked at me and grinned. “You mean, she's going to stay with us and be like a sister?” 

“Yes.” Mr. Winchester glanced at me again.

Sam frowned. “But her parents-”

“They, uh, were in the fire.” Mr. Winchester said. I felt tears come to my eyes.

“Oh. Sorry, Kate.” Sam said. I felt his hand on my shoulder. “My mommy died in a fire too.”

“She did?” I turned more in my seat to look at him. “I didn't know that.”

Mr. Winchester cleared his throat. “Yes...I tried to, uh, rescue her, but it was too late.” 

“I'm so sorry.” I said. 

Sam looked at me. “Now Daddy can adopt you, just like we wanted!” he smiled again, and looked at Dean. “Dean, Kate's gonna be our sister!”

“I know, Sammy.” Dean said. He looked at me and gave me a small smile.

“If you'll have me.” I said, and burst into tears. Again. I buried my face in the pillow and felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Why's Kate crying?” Sam asked. “I thought she'd be happy to be our sister.”

“Well, Sam, her parents are gone, and it's a big shock to her. I'm sure she's happy too, but she's going to be sad for a while.”

“Oh.” Sam said. I felt him pat the back of my head. “I'm sorry, Kate.”

I cried for a few minutes and then sat up when I calmed down. 

“How is everyone doing?” Mr. Winchester asked. “Anyone need a bathroom break?”

“I'm hungry.” Sam said. “Can we get breakfast?”

“Yes.” Mr. Winchester said. “Dean, you hungry? Kate?”

“Yeah, I am.” Dean said. 

I shrugged. “I don't know.” 

 

A short time later we saw signs saying that there were restaurants at the next off ramp. Mr. Winchester pulled off and drove to a pancake house. He pulled into a parking space and turned around the face the back seat.

“Sam, you want to get changed into some clothes?” he asked. “Kate, you're still in your pajamas too. You want to get dressed?”

“Okay.” Sam said. 

“I guess.” I said dully. I didn't really care if I stayed in my pajamas for the rest of my life.

“You three stay put, I'll get clothes for both of you. I need to make a phone call.” Mr. Winchester got out of the car and walked around to the trunk. He was outside for a few minutes, talking on the phone, and then he got back into the car. He turned and handed Sam some clothes and then gave me a pair of my shorts and a t-shirt. He handed me Ralph too, smiling at me.

“We're going to stay with Uncle Bobby for a little while.” he said. 

“All right!” Dean said.

“Yay!” Sam said as he got dressed in the back seat. He leaned down and put on his shoes. “I'm ready. I want pancakes. Can I get blueberry pancakes, Dad?”

“Sure, Sammy.” Mr. Winchester said as we got out of the car. Sam took my hand as we walked into the restaurant. 

“I'm going to go to the bathroom.” I said, holding up my clothes. I went into a stall and changed, and started to cry again. I stood in the stall and leaned against the cold metal, feeling the tears drip down my face. Then I took a deep breath and left. I splashed water on my face and then went to find them.

They were sitting in a booth towards the back of the restaurant.

“Kate, sit next to me!” Sam said. 

Sam, Dean and I all ordered pancakes, but when they came, I found that I couldn't eat very much. I ate a couple bites and then stared out the window. 

“Kate, do you want your sausage?” Dean asked me. “Hey, Kate!” 

Sam bumped my elbow with his. “Earth to Kate!” he said, laughing. “Are you there?”

“What, Sam?” I turned my head to look at him.

“Can I have your sausage if you're not gonna eat it?” Dean asked.

I pushed my plate towards him. “Sure.” I said.

“Are you feeling okay, Kate?” Mr. Winchester asked kindly.

I felt a rush of anger. “What do you think?” I asked sarcastically. “My parents are-- are--” I couldn't even say the words. “It's just me now--” and I started crying again, much to my embarrassment. I put my head down and covered my face with my hands. 

I felt hands on my shoulders, and Mr. Winchester was there, putting his arms around me. 

“Shh, sweetheart.” he said gently. “It's all right. I know you feel alone, but you're not. We're here with you.” 

No one had ever called me sweetheart before, and his kindness just made me cry harder. I felt someone patting my back, and Sam said, “Me and Dean will be your brothers forever!” 

I laughed a little in spite of my tears. “Not one, but two little brothers.” I said. “That's going to be interesting.”

 

Before we got back on the road, Mr. Winchester packed the pillows and blankets away and I got into the back seat with the boys. We played “I Spy” for a while, and then we played a game where we tried to spot as many license plates from different states as we could. That didn't last for very long because Sam couldn't read all the state's names and he got frustrated. Mr. Winchester put some Beatles music on the car stereo and we listened to that for a while. 

We pulled into a small town to get gas and stop at the rest rooms. Mr. Winchester said we could stop and get food now, but that would make us get to Bobby's house later, so the boys and I had agreed to try and drive straight through. I still wasn't feeling very hungry. 

I used the rest room and when I came out, Mr. Winchester was right there. He had a tense look on his face. He took my arm and walked us quickly to the car. The boys were already in the back, and Mr. Winchester pulled out of the gas station fast. 

“What's wrong, Dad?” Dean asked, leaning forward.

Mr. Winchester kept looking in the rear-view mirror. “Change of plans.” he told us. “We're going to visit with Pastor Jim. I need it quiet in here for now.”

“But Daddy, I really wanted to see Uncle Bobby!” Sam said. “I didn't get to see him when he came to visit 'cause I was in the hospital!”

“Sam, I said I want it quiet!” Mr. Winchester snapped. “I need to concentrate!” he glanced behind him and changed lanes.

“That's not fa--” Sam started to say, and Mr. Winchester cut him off. “Next one who talks gets a spanking when we stop for the night!” He glared at Sam in the rear view mirror, and Sam dropped his eyes and bit his lip. I took his hand and squeezed it. The way Mr. Winchester was acting made me feel a little scared. 

We drove for a few hours, and Mr. Winchester changed lanes frequently and got off of exits and then seemed to turn around and get back on the same road, but going in the opposite direction. 

The boys and I sat in the back seat in tense silence for a long time, the threat of a spanking hanging over our heads. 

“All right.” Mr. Winchester said finally. “We're going to have to stop for the night at a hotel. Who wants pizza?” He glanced at all of us. “You can talk now. I'm sorry I snapped before.”

“Why are we going to Pastor Jim's?” Dean asked.

“Because I'm going to need Bobby's help with something.” Mr. Winchester said. He turned on the radio and found a classic rock station, and we listened to that for a while as we drove. 

He finally pulled into a hotel and stopped outside of the office. “I'll be right back.” he told us. “Keep the doors locked.” He was gone for a few moments, and then came back and drove us around to the back part of the hotel. He parked outside an end unit. We got out of the car and Mr. Winchester ushered us into the room.   
“I'll bring in the bags.” He made a couple trips, and then came in and locked the door. 

The room had two queen sized beds and a sitting area with a large sofa, and a small kitchen area on the other side. 

Mr. Winchester beckoned me to follow him and we walked over to the kitchen area. “I don't want to worry you.” he said quietly. “I thought that the vampire that your father was involved with was a loner, but I think I saw some of his...business associates earlier in the day. That's why I did all that crazy driving, to make sure they couldn't follow us.”

“Do you think they were looking for us?” I felt scared.

“It's a strong possibility. Once a vampire gets a person's scent, they can track them. And your scent is similar to your father's, because you were family. So they may be looking for you.”

I swallowed nervously. “But why?”

“Well, I'm sure they know by now that the vampire is dead, and they want to know why. We're going to go to my friend Jim's, he has a place that's very well guarded and you'll be safe there until Bobby and I can take care of the vamps.”

“Take care of...you mean...”

He nodded. “Yes, we're going to have to kill them.”

I looked up at him. “But what if you get hurt?” I asked him, tears coming to my eyes.

He put his hands on my shoulders. “Don't worry about that, all right? Bobby and I have worked together before, and we'll be fine.” 

I took a deep breath. “Okay.” I said. 

We walked back over to where the boys were bouncing on the beds.

“All right, that's enough, you two.” Mr. Winchester said. “What do we want on our pizzas?” 

He left a short time later to get food, with strict instructions to lock up.

Sam and Dean stood up on the beds and started jumping back and forth on them, shouting, “Parkour!” 

“Boys, get down.” I said. “You're going to get hurt.”

“We'll be okay, Kate!” Sam said. “Come on, join us!” He leapt to the other bed and I tried to grab him. He giggled and slipped out of my arms.

“Boys, settle down and stop jumping.” I told them.

Dean jumped over to the other bed where Sam was, and they jumped on it together. They looked at each other and then grabbed each other's hands, and then jumped to the other bed, shouting, “ Hardcore Parkour!”

As they landed there was a loud cracking sound and then the corner of the bed slumped down. Both boys let go of each other's hands and sat down hard on the bed, their eyes wide.

“Oh my gosh, I think we broke it!” Dean said in a loud whisper, looking scared. 

“Oh no!” I said. “Your Dad is going to be really upset!” I was worried he would be angry with me for not stopping them. “I told you to stop jumping!” I snapped.   
They got off the bed and we tried to lift the mattress and look at the frame, but none of us were strong enough to. We walked over to the sofa and sat down. I bit my lip and tried not to cry as we waited. 

Finally we heard the key in the lock. Mr. Winchester came in with two flat pizza boxes and a white paper bag. He glanced over at us. 

“Ready to eat?” he asked, and then he looked over at us again. He set the pizza boxes on the table in the kitchen area and walked over to us.

“All right, what happened?” he asked sternly. He put his hands on his hips. “Report!” he said curtly. Sam and Dean stood up slowly, and I stood up too.

“Uh, we might have, uh, broke the bed.” Dean looked down at the floor, tracing the pattern on the rug with the toe of his sock.

“Oh really? And how might this have happened?”

No one said anything for a long moment. Mr. Winchester looked at me. “Kate?” he asked.

“Um, they were jumping on the beds.” I said, feeling guilty. “I told them to stop a couple times, but--”

“I see.” Mr. Winchester folded his arms. “What makes you think the bed might be broken?”

Dean pointed at the bed, where the corner was sagging down.   
Mr. Winchester walked over and lifted the mattress up. He looked at something, and then he got down on his hand and knees and looked at something under the bed. He stood up and came back over to us. “Well, there's no might about it. The bed frame is broken.”

“Are we gonna get in trouble with the hotel?” Sam asked uncertainly.

“I'm not going to tell them.” Mr. Winchester said. “And you're in trouble with me, young man.” he sighed. “We're not going to have the time to deal with it, and I don't want to move to another room right now. Who was jumping on that bed?”

“Uh, me and Sammy jumped...together.” Dean said, blushing.

Mr. Winchester sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “All right, boys, I'll give you a choice. Spanking now, or at bedtime. Which is it?” 

Sam and Dean glanced at each other and they both shifted their weight.

“Uh, now.” Dean said. 

“Yeah, now.” Sam whispered. He glanced at me. 

“Kate, could you go into the bathroom for a few minutes?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“Um, sure.” I said. I went into the bathroom and sat down on the closed toilet seat. 

Unfortunately the hotel door was thin, and I heard everything. I heard Mr. Winchester lecture the boys about doing the right thing and behaving while we were traveling, and listening to me, and then I heard him say “come here” and I heard the swats, and then Sam crying. Then I heard more swatting, and eventually there was more crying. 

The door opened and Mr. Winchester said to me, “You can come out now.” 

I followed him over to the table. Sam and Dean were both laying on the bed on their stomachs, with pillows balled up under their faces, and I realized that they were both crying. I had never actually seen Dean cry like that, and I felt really bad for them both. 

Mr. Winchester opened one of the pizza boxes and served me a piece of pizza. “I also got a couple of salads.” he told me. 

“Thanks.” I said.” I could only eat a couple bites, and then I wasn't hungry any more.

He started eating, and then Sam got up and walked over to him. 

“I'm sorry, Daddy.” he said in a small voice, and Mr. Winchester hugged him and said, “You're all right, Sam.” He wiped Sam's face off with a napkin and helped him blow his nose, and then gave Sam some pizza. Sam sat down next to me and gave me a small smile.

Dean came over in a couple of minutes and hugged Mr. Winchester, and Mr. Winchester held him and whispered in his ear for a moment, rubbing his back. Dean took some pizza and sat down on the other side of me. 

I opened a container of salad and ate the slices of cucumber out of it, but that was all I could manage.

“You feeling okay, Kate?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“Yeah, I'm just not very hungry.” I said. “I'm going to get ready for bed.” 

I got my pajamas and toothbrush out of my bag and went into the bathroom. When I came back out, they were still eating.

“What about sleeping arrangements?” I asked.

“You can take that bed.” Mr. Winchester pointed. “The boys can sleep in the broken one, and I'll take the sofa.”

“Are you sure? I can sleep on the sofa if you want.” I said.

“No, that's all right.” he smiled at me. 

I walked over and got into bed. 

“Aren't you going to say goodnight?” Sam asked me. 

“Oh.” I said, sitting up. “Yeah.” I walked over to them and leaned down to hug and kiss the boys. 

Then I walked over to Mr. Winchester. He hugged me and then cupped my cheek with his hand. “You sure you're okay?” he asked.

“I'm just...tired and feeling a little...sad.” I said. Tears filled my eyes even though I tried to will them away. He hugged me again. “It's going to take a while.” he told me. “Let yourself cry when you need to. We're here for you.” 

Someone hugged my back and I turned. Sam was behind me. “We're always here for hugs!” he said brightly. I turned around and hugged him again. “Thanks, Sammy.” I said.

I got back in bed and fell asleep quickly, listening to them chatting with each other.


	17. Chapter 17

“Yes...” the man said... “She will do- I should get hours of enjoyment out of her...”

... I saw sharp white fangs in a wide open mouth... felt an ice cold hand gripping the back of my neck...

...I saw the open mouth with fangs out, bending over me...

...“Katie, get back here! I'll be ruined, and it will be all your fault! I'm DEAD, and this is ALL YOUR FAULT!!”

...I felt a sharp pain in my throat as the fangs sank into my skin...

I woke up screaming, fighting against something. “It's all my fault!” I cried out. “It's all my fault!” 

“Kate?” I heard a little voice say. 

A light went on next to me, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Kate, wake up.” said Mr. Winchester. “Kate, are you awake?”

I sat up, gasping, and tore the covers off of my arms. I looked up at him, feeling panic and guilt. “It's all my fault! I didn't go with him!”

“No, Kate. Absolutely not. It is not your fault.” Mr. Winchester looked down at me.

I started shaking and crying. Mr. Winchester sat down and put his arms around me. 

“Daddy, what does she mean?” I heard Sam ask.

“She had a dream about the fire.” Mr. Winchester told him. “It was very scary for her.”

He rubbed my back soothingly until I had calmed down. He let go of me and leaned over to get a box of tissues off of the bedside table. As I wiped my face off, Sam handed me Ralph.

I smiled at him. “Thanks, Sam.” I said.

“Are you going to be able to get back to sleep?” Mr. Winchester asked.

“Yeah, I think so. Sorry I woke you up.” I said.

He patted my shoulder. “It's all right. Lay down.”

I laid down in bed, holding Ralph, and he pulled the covers up around me and tucked me in, then leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Try and get some sleep.” he said. 

He looked at Sam. “All right, buddy, back to bed with you too.” he said. He turned the light off and I watched as he tucked Sam back into bed. I didn't think I'd be able to go back to sleep. 

 

 

I woke up the next morning to the bed moving and opened my eyes. Sam was sitting next to me, bouncing on the bed. “Good morning, Kate!” He said happily.

I groaned. “Good morning...I guess.” I said. I rolled over and pulled the covers up.

I heard the bathroom door open and Mr. Winchester came out with a towel around his neck.

“Good morning.” he said, and Sam got off the bed and ran over to him. He picked Sam up and gave him a kiss.

“Kate, do you want to take a shower before we go?”

“No thanks.” I said. 

“Daddy, can we get pancakes again?” Sam asked, looking at his father.

Mr. Winchester put him down. “No, we need to get started. We'll grab something to eat on the road and then stop for lunch. I'm not sure if we're going to be able to make it to Jim's by tonight, we may need to stop again. We'll see how far we get. Go wake your brother up so we can get moving.”

Sam ran over to the bed and got on it and jumped on Dean. 

“Quit it, Sam!” Dean said, pushing him away.

I got out of bed and walked over to my suitcase. Mr. Winchester came over to me.

“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Just...kind of empty.”

“I understand. What you're feeling is normal.” He patted my back. “I'm here if you need to talk, all right?”

I nodded and got some clothes out, then went to the bathroom to change and brush my teeth.

When I came out the boys were getting dressed. We packed our pajamas away and then Mr. Winchester started carrying bags out to the car. After he had checked out, he drove us to a coffee- shop type place that sold bagels and pastries. He pulled into the drive-through line.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked, turning towards the back seat. I was sitting up front next to him.

“Umm...I want blueberry muffins.” Sam said.

“Can I get muffins too?” Dean asked.

“Sure. Kate?” Mr. Winchester looked at me.

“I'm not hungry.” I shook my head. 

“You should still order something in case you get hungry later.” he told me.

“Okay... a bagel.” I said. 

He ordered half a dozen muffins, orange juices for all of us, a coffee for himself, and a couple of bagels. He handed the box of muffins back to the boys and then gave me a bagel wrapped in waxed paper. 

I put it on the seat next to me and he glanced at me. 

“Kate, will you sit back here with us?” Sam asked. “I want to sit next to you.”

“Maybe later.” I told him. I turned and stared out the window as we got back out onto the road.

 

 

We stopped mid-morning for a bathroom break at a large truck stop. There was a large area with vending machines, and a convenience store that sold food and beer and other things like books and gifts. Mr. Winchester led us over to the area where the books were.

“Boys, grab a couple of comics each.” he told them. “Kate, there's a couple of Stephen King paperbacks over there, why don't you get one or two. Or see if there's something else you like.”

I glanced through the racks of books and found two that looked interesting. Mr. Winchester also bought a couple of magazines that had crossword puzzles and word searches in them. 

He let us pick some snacks and drinks to take in the car. As we crossed the parking lot, Sam looked over at the rest area, where there was a playground and picnic tables. “Dad, can we go over to the playground?”

“Not right now, Sam.” Mr. Winchester said. “We need to get back on the road.”

We got into the car and I sat in the back next to Sam. 

“But Dad, I want to go play! I'm bored of being in the car!” Sam complained.

Mr. Winchester put the car in gear and started to back out of the parking space. “I know you are, buddy, but we need to go. Read one of your comic books for now.” 

“I don't WANT to!” Sam crossed his arms and pouted. 

“Sam, let's do a word search together.” I suggested. 

He grabbed the magazine out of my hand and threw it on the floor. 

“NO!” he shouted. “I don't want to do any dumb word searches!” 

I blinked, surprised at his vehemence.

Mr. Winchester glanced back at him, frowning. “Sam!” he barked. “Apologize right now!” 

Sam shot me a dark look. “Sor—ry.” he muttered. 

I opened my book and tried to start reading it. A moment later, Sam's foot started to kick the back of the front seat.

“Samuel...” Mr. Winchester growled. “What have I told you about kicking the seat?”

Sam ducked his head and then kicked the seat once more.

“Sam, quit it!” Dean said, looking at Sam worriedly. 

“You kick that seat just one more time and I will pull this car over.” Mr. Winchester said. His voice was the deep tone that he got when he was really angry.

I touched Sam's arm and said quietly, “Sam, stop!” 

Dean held out one of his his new comic books. “You want to read my newest Batman? I'll let you read it before me.” He smiled at Sam.

Sam grabbed the comic out of Dean's hand and threw it into the front seat. It hit the dashboard and then fell onto the floor, the thin paper pages fluttering.

“All right.” Mr. Winchester said. “That's it!” He drove for a couple of minutes, until there was an area with a wide shoulder. He pulled the car over onto the side of the road and sat with his head bowed for a long moment. 

“Uh, Dad, what are you doing?” Dean asked uneasily. 

“Counting to 10.” Mr. Winchester said. “Although in this case I think I need to count to 20.” He sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his face, and then unbuckled his seatbelt and turned around to face us. 

“Sam.” he said. “I know you are tired of being in the car. But right now we cannot stop to let you get out and run around. I bought you the comics and the word search books to give you something to do. You have to learn to deal with it when you don't get your way, no matter how frustrated you are. And misbehaving and being rude is only going to get you in trouble. You know better than to kick my seat; we've had discussions about that more than once. And you know better than to grab things away from people, and you certainly know better than to throw things in the car while I am driving. That was a very dangerous thing for you to do, Samuel, and I am disappointed in you.”

During the lecture, Sam deflated like a balloon losing air, until his head was bowed and his shoulders were slumped. 

“I'm sorry, Daddy.” he whispered, and his voice shook.

“I think we're all going to have to have a discussion about the rules soon, to remind you how to behave, especially when we're traveling. Get unbuckled.”

Sam's head came up. “But Dad-”

“What's the rule, Sam? Are you supposed to throw things in the car when I'm driving?”

Sam's head went down again. “No.”

“Excuse me?”

“Uh, no, sir.” Sam said, and cleared his throat. 

“And what happens when you break a rule?”

“A spankin'.” Sam's voice was a whisper again.

“Right. Now unbuckle your seat belt and come with me.”

Mr, Winchester opened his door and got out of the car, and Sam undid his seat belt. Mr. Winchester opened the back door. Sam just sat there. Mr. Winchester bent down and looked in at Sam. “Do I need to start counting, young man?” he said. “Let's go.” 

Dean moved his legs up on the seat so that Sam could get by him. Sam's shoulders twitched. 

“Samuel. One.” Mr. Winchester said in a hard voice. Sam got out of the car and Mr. Winchester took his arm and closed the door.

“What's he going to do?” I asked Dean as they walked around to the back of the car.

“Dad sits on the bumper and spanks us.” Dean said. 

“You mean this has happened before?”

Dean looked embarrassed. “Yeah. Sometimes when we're in the car for a long time, me and Sam get grumpy and end up fighting.” He looked at me, blushing a little. “If we fight in the car, we get a bare butt spankin'.”

“Yikes!” I said. “I'll remember that.” 

Mr. Winchester came back to the car and opened the back door. He was holding Sam, and Sam was sniffling, with his arms around Mr. Winchester's neck. I could hear Mr. Winchester murmuring something to Sam, and then he leaned down and put Sam in the back.

Sam scrambled onto the seat and buckled in, then he said, “Suh- sorry, Kate, s-sorry, D-dean.” his chest hitched.

“It's okay.” I said sympathetically. He turned to me and threw his arms around my middle, and I held him for a while as he cried. I understood how frustrated he was about being in the car for so long, but I knew we had to keep driving. Mr. Winchester got back into the car and pulled back out onto the highway again.

 

 

“Punchbuggy!” Sam yelled, and punched my upper arm. I looked out the window and saw a red VW Bug drive past us. 

“Ow, Sam, not so hard!” I complained, rubbing my arm. “Can we actually not do the punching?” I asked. 

“You're just upset 'cause I saw it first!” Sam said.

“No, I just don't like being punched suddenly!” I said, irritated. I wanted to read my book, but the boys had started playing Punchbuggy- which was where you yelled “Punchbuggy!” and punched someone when you saw a VW Bug, and Padiddle, which was yelling out “Padiddle!” when you saw a car with only one headlight on. Apparently their version also involved trying to tickle the person next to you when you said it. Since I was reading and not paying attention, I kept getting tickled and punched, and it was getting on my nerves. I was now sitting between them, so I was getting it from both sides. 

“All right, boys, settle down now. Hands to yourself.” Mr. Winchester looked at us in the rear view mirror. “I think Kate's had enough.” He glanced back at me with a smile. “You sure you want to have two little brothers? You're going to have to learn how to defend yourself, you know.” 

“Punchbuggy!” I yelled suddenly, punching Sam's arm. He and Dean looked out the windows, looking around for a VW Bug. 

Sam turned back to me. “There wasn't any Punchbuggy out there!”

“It was invisible!” I said, grinning at him.

“Heeeyy...you can't do that!” Sam protested. 

Mr. Winchester started laughing. “All right, you three, no more Punchbuggy.” he said. “Is it time to get some lunch?” 

 

We sat in a diner booth, looking at menus. 

“Dean, what are you going to get?” Mr. Winchester asked. 

“Cheeseburger and fries.” Dean said. “Can I get a soda?” 

“No, I want you to get milk or water. We've still got a way to go yet and we're going to be in the car for a few more hours.” Mr. Winchester looked at Sam. “Sammy?”

“I want chicken strips with a side salad.” Sam said. 

“Well, that's different.” Mr. Winchester said. “Kate?”

I glanced at him. “Hmm?”

“What would you like to eat?”

I shook my head. “I'm not really hungry.”

“You should order something to eat.” He told me.

“But I'm not hungry.”

“You didn't eat any breakfast. I want you to eat something.”

“I'm fine!” I snapped, slapping my menu down on the table.

Mr. Winchester raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me?” he said. “Are you giving me an attitude?”

I rubbed my face. Suddenly I felt like crying. “Sorry.” I said. “I just-- I don't feel like eating.”

He reached across the table and put his hand on mine. “I understand. It's hard when you're grieving. But you need to eat to keep your strength up.” 

I picked up the menu again and opened it. Nothing looked good, and the idea of putting food in my mouth and chewing and swallowing it just seemed like too much effort. 

A waitress walked up to the table. “What can I get for you?” she asked, snapping her gum.

Sam ordered first, then Dean. 

“Kate?” Mr. Winchester looked at me.

I looked up at the waitress and shook my head. “Nothing for me.” I said.

“Okay, hon.” she said, and turned her attention to Mr. Winchester. 

“I'll have the hamburger platter with everything, and she'll have a house salad.” He told her.

We gave our menus to the waitress and she walked away. 

I felt mad at Mr. Winchester. “I said I wasn't hungry!” I said with irritation.

“And I said you need to eat.” he said sternly. 

I huffed and sat back, staring down at the paper placemat. Sam and Dean started to play hangman on Sam's placemat.

“Kate, help me.” Sam said. “What letter should I choose?"

I glanced at the paper. “I don't know.” I said. “Did you try all the vowels?”

Sam looked at me. “I don't know what a bowel is, silly! That sounds funny!”

“How about T?”

“Okay.” Sam said. Dean drew an arm on the figure. “Kate, that wasn't right! Help me! Look at the word and see if you can figure it out!”

“Sam, I'm not really in the mood right now.” I said, trying not to snap at him. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. 

The waitress came back to the table and started putting plates down. She put a small bowl of salad in front of me. When she left, I pushed it away. 

I looked up to see Mr. Winchester watching me. “Kate, you picked at your food yesterday and barely ate anything, and you didn't eat breakfast this morning. Now I want you to eat that.” 

“And I told you I'm not! Hungry!” I snapped. “How many different ways do I need to say it?” 

“Young lady, you need to lose the attitude.” he said.

“Well you need to lay off!” I glared at him.

“I am about two seconds away from taking you out to the car for a spanking.” He said in a hard voice. “I've done it with the boys in the past and I have no problem doing it with you. Is that what needs to happen?”

“No!” I stared at the table, unable to meet his eyes.

“Then I suggest you eat.” he said. 

I sighed and picked up my fork. I speared a piece of cucumber and lettuce and put it in my mouth. As I ate, my stomach rumbled. I was hungry, I just hadn't realized it. 

Sam and Dean ate quietly, glancing at me and their father and trying to judge our moods. 

“Dad, can I get some pie?” Dean asked.

“Let's save the dessert for dinner time.” Mr. Winchester said. “Kate, are you still hungry?”

I had finished the salad quickly. I looked up at him, feeling embarrassed.”Yes.” I said. 

He motioned the waitress over. “What do you want?” he asked me.

“Uh, the hamburger platter looks good.” I said. 

“Sure thing. Anyone else want anything?” She looked around the table.

After she walked away I looked at Mr. Winchester again. “I'm sorry I snapped at you before.” I said. “I guess I was hungry.”

“You need to take care of yourself right now, and that means eating even when you're not feeling hungry.. Everything is going to feel off, so you need to continue to do things the way you have been. And I'm going to keep making sure that you take care of yourself too.”

 

All of us were exhausted from sitting in the back of the car for so long. Mr. Winchester said he would spring for a slightly nicer hotel room for the night. There was a sub shop next to the hotel, so he got us subs for dinner. The hotel room was large, with two queen sized beds and a sitting area with a sofa bed and a love seat, and a kitchenette that had a microwave, mini fridge, toaster oven, and sink. The boys walked around, exclaiming at the appliances.

“Look, Dad, they have a coffee maker, and some coffee, so you can have some in the morning!” Dean held up a small packet.

“I saw that, that's great.” Mr. Winchester pulled something out of the bag that the subs had come in. “They were selling snacks in the lobby where I checked us in, so I got some microwave popcorn.” he said. “We can find a movie to watch if you want and have the popcorn, with dinner.”

Sam hugged Mr. Winchester. “Yeah! I love popcorn!” he said. 

We watched the movie WALL-E, and then Mr. Winchester opened up the sofa bed up for the boys. They went to get changed into their pajamas. I could hear them giggling in the bathroom together, and it made me think of when I had stayed with them earlier in the summer. 

When they came out of the bathroom, Mr. Winchester said, “We've had a long day of traveling, and I think all three of you should go to bed now.”

I had curled up on my bed, reading one of my books. I continued to read for a few minutes, not moving. 

“Kate,” he said to me. “Get your pajamas on, please.”

He waited a moment, and then said, “Kate.” again. 

I sat up and laid my book face down on the bed, sighing with annoyance. I got out my pajamas and toothbrush, and went into the bathroom. 

When I came out, my book was not on the bed. Mr. Winchester was sitting at the small table on the other side of the room, looking through a newspaper. The boys were laying on the sofa bed watching t.v.

“Where's my book?” I asked, looking around for it.

Mr. Winchester held it up and then placed it back on the table next to his elbow.

“Why did you take it?” I asked angrily. 

“Because it's time for you to go to bed.” he said, turning a page in his paper.

I walked over to him and reached down to pick up my book. 

He grabbed my wrist and held it. “Kate--” he said warningly. “Don't-- do – it.”

“It's my book, let me have it!” I snapped. “Why are you always on me about going to bed? Why are you always telling me to stop reading? Why can't I do what I want? You're not my father!” 

I glared at him, and tried to jerk my hand away from him. The boys had fallen silent, and the tension in the room was thick.

He looked up at me. “Kate, for all intents and purposes, I am your father now. You don't have to think of me that way, but I am your guardian and I have rules. And I expect you to follow my rules. You aren't on your own now, and you can't just do what you want, when you want.”

He let go of my wrist and I yanked my hand back.

“Well this sucks!” I snapped. “And I'm sick and TIRED of your stupid FREAKING rules!” 

I heard Sam gasp behind me. 

“I'm sorry you feel that way.” Mr. Winchester said mildly. He sat back, gazing up at me. “I still expect you to follow them.”

“I'm not going to bed.” I said resolutely. “And I'm going to read for a while.” 

I reached for my book again, and he said, “Kate, I'm warning you, if you pick that book up, you are going to be in trouble.”

I picked up the book, turned, and stomped over to my bed, where I sat down on the edge.

Mr. Winchester stood up. “Boys, go into the bathroom and close the door.”

Sam and Dean scrambled off of the bed and looked over at me. Sam looked scared and Dean looked upset. They hurried into the bathroom and the door closed with finality.

“I'll give you one chance to bring the book over here and then get into bed.” Mr. Winchester said to me. He waited.

I put the book on my lap and opened it.

I heard him sigh and then he walked over to me. He held out his hand. “Give it to me.” he said. I ignored him.

“Kate, last chance.” he said in a hard voice. 

I slammed the book closed, and then I threw it at him. It hit his stomach and he caught the book as it fell, and then turned and tossed it behind him onto the sofa bed. 

Then he sat down next to me and pulled me across his lap. I fought him, pushing up with my arms on the bed and trying to push my hips up with my feet. 

“You—can't—do--this--” I panted out angrily. He pinned my legs between his and tucked me into his side, holding me there with his arm, and then he began spanking me. 

“You will follow the rules I give you.” he said, as his hand fell again and again. “You will not use bad language. You will not throw things at me. You will do as you're told.”

I shrieked as my butt began to sting. Hot tears had started to pour down my cheeks but I still felt angry. I didn't know where this was coming from. I gritted my teeth and tried to wrench myself away from him, pushing my feet on the floor, but it did no good. He was much stronger than me and easily held me in place over his lap. “Let--me--up!” I yelped as I struggled.

“Be STILL!” he ground out, and the swats became harder and fell faster. I caught my breath as the pain worsened and my bottom felt like it was on fire. He continued to spank me, and then it was as if something broke in the middle of my chest and the anger fell away.

“Why are you doing this?” I cried out. “Why do you care so much? Why --why didn't they?” I burst into tears. “Why didn't they care like you do? Wh—why was he going to give me to that-- that creature? How could he do that?” I wailed. I felt desolate. I gulped big breaths of air, trying to get ahold of myself. I didn't know that this was inside of me.

Mr. Winchester pulled me up to sit in his lap. He put his arms around me and held me tightly. “They weren't good parents.” he said to me. “They didn't know how to take care of you.”

I put my arms around him and buried my face in his shirt, bawling. Even though they hadn't been affectionate or caring, they were still my parents, and they were gone. 

“They're gone.” I sobbed. 

“Yes, they're gone. But I'm here now, and I'm going to take care of you, and you're part of the family with Sammy and Dean.” 

We sat as I cried and cried, my tears soaking his flannel. 

As I calmed down I realized what I had done. I took a deep breath and said, “I'm sorry I was so rude to you.”

He chuckled, and I felt his hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair. “It's all right, I've had plenty of experience dealing with tantrums. I think you've needed to get that out of your system for some time now.”

“I-- I threw a tantrum?” I felt embarrassed.

“Well, in a manner of speaking. Not a 'down on the floor kicking and screaming' one like a little kid, but it was a tantrum.”

“I'm sorry.” I said again.

“It's all right.” he said kindly. “I understand where it was coming from.” 

“Thank you for taking me in.” My chest hitched as my eyes filled with tears again.

“You're welcome.” he said. “Thank you for agreeing to be part of the family. The boys love you, and so do I.”

I looked up at him. “You—love me?” I felt stunned.

“I do, Kate. I've felt like you're my daughter for a while now.” He smiled down at me. 

I snuggled into his chest. “I love you too.” I said, realizing that it was true. It felt good to say it, and to feel it. I could not ever remember my parents telling me that they loved me.

I looked up at him again, feeling shy. “Mr. Winchester?” I asked. “Can I- can I call you Dad sometimes?” I asked hesitantly.

“You can call me Dad all the time.” He told me, looking down at me and smiling again. “I was going to talk to you about that anyway. I think that when we're on the road you need to call me Dad, because it would look odd for me to have two kids calling me Dad and one calling me by my last name.”

“Oh, right.” I paused. “I can call you Dad!” I said happily.

“Yes.” he said. “Boys!” He called. ”You can come out of the bathroom!”

They walked out slowly, looking at both of us.

“Is Kate okay?” Sam asked quietly.

“Come here, boys.” Mr. Winchester said.

They walked over and stood in front of us. 

“Kate is going to start calling me Dad from now on. Is that all right with you?”

They both got huge smiles on their faces.”Yeah!” they said.

“It'll be like she really is our sister!” Dean said. 

“Good.” Mr. Winchester--Dad-- said, and he held out his arm to the boys. They crowded in and we all hugged. 

“All right, bedtime for my three children.” he said.

The boys went to their bed and I stood up and got under my covers. He hugged me and kissed my cheek and said, “Good night, daughter.”

I smiled at him and said,”Good night, Dad.”

I laid down and he pulled my covers up. Then he went over and tucked the boys in.

I fell asleep in no time at all.

 

 

“...I'm going to do it slooooww...”

... Felt his ice-cold hand moving down my neck, felt his hard hand holding the back of my neck...

“...Get back here, you little bitch...”

...Saw a row of sharp white fangs extending out of upper and lower gums...

“ ...It will be all your fault...”

“Kate?” Someone was shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes. Sam stood next to my bed, looking down at me. “You were moaning in your sleep.” he said quietly.

“Oh...did I wake you up? I'm sorry--” I mumbled. The room was mostly dark and I could hear someone snoring lightly.

“No, it's okay. Were you having a bad dream again?” 

My eyes filled with tears. “Yeah.” I whispered. 

He climbed onto the bed and got under the covers, then curled up next to me. “It's not your fault ya know.” he said, leaning his head on my shoulder and putting his arm around me.

“Wh-what?”

“Every time you have a bad dream you say it's your fault. It's not.” 

“Oh.” I felt tears slip out of my eyes, down the sides of my face. 

“I used to think it was my fault that my mommy died, but I was just a baby, so how could it be my fault? Sometimes bad things just happen.” 

I turned my head towards him. “You have a lot of wisdom for a 6-year-old, Sammy.” I told him. 

“I don't like it when you're upset.” he said. “And it wasn't your fault.” 

I moved my arm and put it around him, and he snuggled into my side. 

“I love you, Kate.” he murmured.

“I love you too, Sammy.” I said, pulling the blanket up around us. 

We fell asleep like that.


	18. Chapter 18

The bed was bouncing. I opened my eyes, and Sam was leaning over me, beaming at me.

“Good morning, sister!” he said happily.

“G' mornin.'” I mumbled. I felt so tired. I could smell coffee brewing, and sat up.

Across the room, Mr. Winchester was standing at the kitchen counter, waiting for the coffee maker to finish. He had a newspaper tucked under his arm. He poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to walk over to the sitting area. He saw that I was awake and came over to stand at the end of the bed. “Good morning.” he said, smiling at me.

“Morning.” I yawned. “Mr. Win- I mean, uh, Dad?” I said shyly. “... Is there time for me to take a shower?”

He set his coffee and newspaper on top of the tv and came over to the bed, and then leaned down to hug me. “Kate, it makes me really happy to hear you say that.” he told me. He straightened up and cupped my chin in his hand. “Mary and I wanted to have a girl as well.” he said quietly. “I hope that she's giving this her blessing.” His eyes got wet for a moment and I jumped up and hugged him again. “I think she is.” I said. “It feels like it's supposed to be this way.” 

He hugged me back, and then Sam came over and put his arms around both of us. 

“It is s'posed to be this way. I always knew, that's why I kept asking for you to adopt Kate!” He smiled up at Mr. Winchester. 

Mr. Winchester ruffled his hair. “I guess you were right, Sammy.” he said. He turned and took his coffee and newspaper and sat down on the sofa. He looked at me. “Go ahead and take a shower, we've got time.” 

 

TRAGEDY STRIKES IN SUBURBIA

'Local politician and family die in mysterious house fire; origin of blaze unknown  
Last night, in the early hours of the morning, the house of Comptroller Douglas Young caught on fire. He and his wife and daughter were in the house, however the fire burned too quickly for any of them to be rescued. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire to determine its origin.  
There will be a memorial service held this Friday at The Church of the Redeemer on New Hope Road, starting at 10 AM.  
Comptroller Young was active in the community with several committees to help disadvantaged youth, homeless people, and-'

 

The newspaper was pulled out of my hands. I looked up at Mr. Winchester. His jaw was tight, but he wasn't angry. “You don't need to read that, Kate.” he said. 

“Where did you get it from?” I asked him. It wasn't a local paper; we were at least a couple of states away from my parent's house by now.

“I got it from the other hotel, the day after...” He picked it up and folded it closed.

I felt sad. I wondered how many people would be at the memorial service. I wondered if the kids from our neighborhood would go. I realized I would probably never see any of them ever again, and that they thought I was dead. But then, my father had planned to give me to a vampire, which would have been a fate worse than death. I felt anger surge up in me. People didn't know. They thought everything was normal. They didn't know that my father had been doing business with a monster that drank people's blood. They didn't know that he had let the monster kill his wife and that he had been willing to give his daughter to the monster to pay off a debt. They didn't know that while my father spent lots of time at his committees supposedly helping others, he ignored his daughter and then hit her. To people on the outside, we looked like a normal family. 

I stood up so quickly that the chair I had been sitting in fell backwards with a clatter. Sam and Dean turned from where they were sitting on the sofa bed, watching cartoons.

“Nobody knows.” I said, feeling myself starting to tremble. 

“What?” Mr. Winchester looked confused. 

“Nobody knows what really happened!” I paced toward the door, and then walked back to the table. “We looked normal! Nobody knows what he was like, what he did...” I paced back toward the door and then stopped and turned towards Mr. Winchester. “And he said it would be my fault! He tried to put the blame on me! On me!” I shouted.

“Kate--” I heard Sam say in a small voice.

Mr. Winchester came over to me and started to put his arms around me. 

“No!” I said, backing away. “Don't touch me!” I looked at his face. “How do I know that you're not going to be the same way? That you're not going to end up treating me like he did? That you're not going to-- to give me--” I choked, unable to say it. I still had trouble comprehending what my father had planned to do with me.

“Kate.” Mr. Winchester said quietly. “I understand how you're feeling. You're feeling betrayed. You're upset and angry. But you know what I—what I do. I would never do-- what he did. And I would NOT ever treat you the way he did. Look at how I've treated you up to this point, how I treat my boys. Your father was not a good man or a good father. He mistreated you and he did you wrong, and you have every right to be upset about it. But try to remember that things are different now, with us.” 

He opened his arms to me, and I walked into them. “It's not fair.” I said, starting to cry. “It's not fair.” 

He put his arms around me and held me tightly. “I know it's not.” he said. “But you're out of there, and you have a whole new life ahead of you. I know you still have some grieving to do, but don't lose sight of your future. You've got me and the boys here to help you out and love you.” 

“Are you really going to be my Dad now?” I asked. “It...it's a little scary.”

I felt him chuckle deep in his chest. “It scares me a little bit too, to be honest. But like I said, I think this is meant to be. You're part of the family now.” I felt his hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair. 

“Sorry I'm crying so much...” I said, embarrassed. “You must think I'm crazy.”

“No, you're grieving and trying to make sense of things. As odd as it sounds, your reactions are completely normal.”

“I have to dry my hair.” I said, and he let go of me.

After my hair was dried, I packed my stuff in my suitcase. The boys were packing up and Mr. Winchester was closing up the sofa bed. 

He took a couple of the bags and said, “I need to make a phone call, I'll be right outside for a few minutes.” 

 

 

“All right, here's the plan.” Mr. Winchester said after he came back into the room. “We'll grab something quick for breakfast, and then we can stop for lunch, and I'll try to find a place that has a playground so you can have a chance to run around. We should be at Pastor Jim's by dinner time tonight.” 

“But I wanted pancakes!” Sam whined. 

“If you want, I will find a diner and you can have them for lunch. Sound good?”

“No, I want them now, not at lunch time!” Sam frowned and crossed his arms. 

“Stop being such a whiny-baby!” Dean said, and suddenly Sam turned to Dean.

“Shut up, Dean!” Sam yelled, jumping on Dean, and then all of a sudden they were rolling on the floor, fists flying and feet kicking. At first I thought that they were playing around, but then I realized that they were actually hitting each other and Dean cried out in pain. 

Mr. Winchester stepped forward, leaned down, grabbed both of them by the backs of their collars, and yanked them upwards, holding them away from each other. They both dangled from his hands, looking shocked. Dean kicked out at Sam and Dad shook him. Then he put them down on the floor.

“Stand down, both of you!” Mr. Winchester barked in a stern voice. “Find a corner, now!” 

They stood there awkwardly for a moment. 

“Sam, over by the counter in the kitchen area. Dean, over next to the sofa.” Mr . Winchester directed.

I felt confused and had no idea what he meant. They both walked to different parts of the room. Sam stood facing a corner in the kitchen area and Dean stood in a small corner made by the wall next to the sofa and the window. They both stood still with their heads down, chests heaving, and I noticed Sam's shoulders start to shake.

I was still standing there with my mouth open in shock. It had all happened so quickly, and I had never seen them act like that.

“It happens sometimes.” Mr. Winchester said quietly to me. “They get too much pent up energy and it comes out in being nasty and physical fighting. Normally I'd make them run laps to get rid of some energy, but we don't have time for that. I'd like for us to to get to Jim's ASAP.”

He turned and walked over to the little coffeemaker, and made himself another cup of coffee. He took a couple of deep swallows of it, then he walked over to the sofa and called the boys over. He pointed to the sofa and said, “Sit.”

Sam and Dean both sat with their heads down, not looking at each other. I sat down on the bed closest to the sofa.

Mr. Winchester folded his arms. “Are you supposed to fight with each other?” he asked.

“No sir.” Dean said.

“But he called me a whiny-baby!” Sam protested. 

“Sam, that doesn't matter. Yes, he shouldn't have called you that, but you know that the rule is that we don't fight and hurt each other.” Mr. Winchester looked at me. “Those are a couple of our family rules, and they're very important.” he said. 

“Sounds good.” I said.

“We don't have time for you boys to run laps, and you broke a rule, so you know what that means.” 

“But Daaaaad!” Sam said. “I don't like bein' in the car with a sore butt!”

“Well, you should have thought of that before you decided to jump on your brother. And you know the drill- you break a rule, you get a spanking.”  
Mr. Winchester got his car keys out of his pocket. He beckoned me and I followed him outside. “If you wouldn't mind, could you sit in the back seat for now, in the middle, as kind of a buffer between the boys?”

“Umm...is it safe right now?” I asked worriedly.

“Yes, it is. I wouldn't let you be out here by yourself if it wasn't.” 

He unlocked the door and I got in. “Okay.” I said, feeling relieved. “Thanks Mr. Win—I mean Dad.”

He leaned into the car and gave me a big smile, then said, “Lock the door, we'll be out in a couple minutes.” I sat in the back and looked around after he went back into the hotel room.

In a couple minutes they walked out of the hotel room and I reached over and unlocked the doors as they walked over to the car. Both Sam and Dean's eyes were red and they were a little sniffly. 

“I saw a Dunkin' Donuts across the street.” Dad said as he pulled out of the parking lot. “Would you like to get doughnuts for breakfast?”

“Yes please!” Dean's eys lit up. 

We got out of the car and walked into the Dunkin' Donuts because Sam said he had to go to the bathroom. I walked him back and stood outside the door and waited for him. When we came back to the front counter, Mr. Winchester asked us what kinds of doughnuts we wanted. 

“I want blueberry!” Sam said.

“I want the kind with chocolate with sprinkles on top.” Dean said. “Can I get a bear claw too?” 

“Sure.” Dad said. “Kate, what would you like?”

All the choices seemed overwhelming. “Just get whatever.” I shrugged. 

He looked at me. “I want you to pick something that you like.”

“I don't care, I'm not hungry.” I said.

“Would you rather have a breakfast sandwich or a bagel?”

“I'm not in the mood to pick!” I glared at him. “Can't you just leave me alone?” I snapped. “I said I'm not hungry!” 

He took my arm and led me a couple of steps away from the boys. “Young lady, I'm tired of you giving me attitude about eating.” He said in a stern, quiet voice. “We talked about this yesterday and I'm not going to let you skip meals. You don't have to eat right now, but I want you to pick something that you will want to eat.”

“I told you I don't want anything!” I tried to pull my arm away from him.

“Kate, unless you want to be riding in the car with a sore butt like the boys, you will lose the attitude right now. This is the last time I'm going to talk to you about it. Is that clear?” He looked me in the eyes. 

“Yes!”

“Excuse me?” he growled, frowning at me. I swallowed nervously. I realized that I didn't want to find out what it was like riding in the car with a sore bottom. 

“Yes sir.” I said meekly. “I'm sorry. Could I get-- a sandwich with egg and sausage instead of a doughnut?”

“That's better.” He pulled me into a hug. “Yes, you can get that.”

We walked over to the counter and Sam took my hand while Dad placed the order. 

 

After we got back onto the highway, Mr. Winchester glanced at us in the rearview mirror.

“Let's talk about rules.” he said. “Boys, I think we need to go over the rules that we have when we are traveling, and explain them to Kate too.”

“Okay, Dad.” they both agreed.

“I need to know where all of you are at all times.” he told us. “No leaving the hotel room on your own; I want you to do the buddy system and if one of you goes outside then you need to have someone with you. You need to do what I tell you, when I tell you, without whining and complaining. That means if you're watching He-Man and I tell you to get dressed and pack, you turn off the t.v. and get dressed and pack up.”

“Kate doesn't watch He-Man.” Sam said.

“Sam, you're missing the point.” Dad tried to be patient. “I was giving you an example. It means that if I tell you we need to get packed up, you do it without a lot of excuses. Do you understand?” 

“Yes sir.” Sam said. “But I like He-Man!” he protested. 

“Sam--” Dad said, shaking his head. He sighed, then said, “Next; bedtime is to be strictly observed; no staying up late watching t.v. or reading.” He glanced back at me and I felt myself blushing. “I'll explain why, Kate. When we are traveling, we are often on a timetable as far as when we have to check out of a hotel in the morning. If I have cranky kids who stayed up all hours of the night, who don't want to get moving, that's going to put a lot of extra stress and strain on things. Which leads me to another rule. All three of you are to look after your own stuff; you need to make sure your bags are packed every night and not leave things all over the hotel room. I expect you to take your shoes off as soon as we come in the room and leave them right by the door. Why is that, Sam?”

“Uh... 'cause sometimes shoes end up getting lost under the sofa.” Sam blushed. 

“Right. And if you take them off as soon as you come in and leave them by the door, you know where they are and they will be easy to find next time you need them.”

“Next rule: you clean up after yourself and throw your own trash away, don't expect someone else to do it for you. If we have a kitchenette and we cook food you need to help clean up. I expect you all to take care of your own stuff but I also expect you to help each other out if needed. We are a family and we should help each other because that's what family does.”

He looked at the boys. “Boys, what else does family do?”

“Uh, they don't fight or hurt each other.” Sam said, glancing at Dean with a guilty look on his face. “Sorry, Dean.”

“Sorry I called you a whiny baby.” Dean said quietly. 

“Thank you, boys.” Dad said. 

“We take care of each other and help each other.” Sam said. 

“That's right. And if you do hurt each other or make mistake you own up to it and apologise. Nothing wrong with making mistakes, no one is perfect.” He paused as he changed lanes. 

“And another thing- no lying to me. And no secrets. We tell each other the truth and don't keep anything from each other. Unless it's something like what we got each other for Christmas, that's a secret you can keep. I need to know that I can trust you to tell me the truth and to do what I tell you to do at all times. If you disobey me or lie to me I can't trust you and things are going to go badly.”

Mr. Winchester glanced back at me. “Any questions, Kate?”

“Uh, no, I guess not.” I said.

“Some rules are going to be different when we are staying with someone. Pastor Jim will have some rules of his own, but I want to go over a couple things with you. I'm going to be leaving you with him for a couple of days, and I expect you to be on your best behavior while you are there, you do what he tells you and you act polite and don't be rude. You help out around the house; he's not there to wait on you hand and foot. And if I hear of any misbehavior happening while I am away, then you can expect a spanking from me when I get back, depending on what you did wrong.”

“Pastor Jim makes us write lines.” Dean said sourly.

“That's right, and Sam is probably old enough now that he can write simple lines.” Dad said.

“What are lines?” I asked.

“When you write the same sentence over and over a bunch of times, like 'I will not be mean to my brother'.” Dean explained. “It's really boring.”

“Yuck.” Sam said. “I'd rather sit on the naughty step.”

“What's the naughty step?”

“It's where I had to sit in time out the last time we were at Pastor Jim's.” Sam said. 

“Since you all are older I doubt that Pastor Jim is going to use time out like that any more.” Dad said. “He's got plenty of chores that you can do around his house.”

 

 

We were sitting in a diner for lunch.

“Sam, you still in the mood for pancakes?” Dad asked him.

“Yeah!” Sam said. 

“Let me guess, Dean, you want a cheeseburger and fries.” Dad said. 

“And Kate wants to be grumpy and argue about eating.” Dean said with a smirk.

I was shocked, and a little hurt that he said that. “Shut up, Dean!” I said irritably, and I shoved him. He and Sam both stared at me in surprise.

“Young lady!” Mr. Winchester admonished. “Apologize!” 

I was shocked at him scolding me. “Not only are you always on me about eating, now he is too!” I said, and I burst into tears. “Can't you all just leave me alone?” I covered my face with my hands, embarrassed to be crying in front of them in a restaurant, again.

“Sorry, Kate.” Dean said. “I was just teasing.” 

I felt a hand on my arm, and Dad was there, taking my hands away from my face. He was standing next to the booth and I stood up. He hugged me and I put my arms around him. Tears kept sliding down my face. “I think when we get to Pastor Jim's you should spend some time talking to him.” he said.

“What do you mean?” I looked up at him.

“He does counseling with people, and he helped me through my grief after Mary...I think it would be good for you to talk about what you're feeling with someone.”   
“I guess.” I said.

“I'm sorry that it seems like I'm always on you, but I'm concerned about you because you're barely eating anything. I know that that's what happens sometimes when a person is grieving, but like I told you, you need to keep your strength up.” He cupped my chin with his hand. “One reason this is so hard for you is that you're not used to having someone take care of you like this and show concern.” 

That made me cry harder. I knew he was exactly right in what he said. And that made me feel sad again. He hugged me again until I had stopped crying, and then we sat back down.

“How about this, Kate? Get something that you would like to eat, it doesn't matter what it is right now. Chocolate pudding? A piece of cake? Something else?”

“That's not fair! If Kate gets cake, I want some too!” Sam said.

“Yeah, can I have some pie?” Dean asked.

“Boys, we're not doing the “that's not fair” thing right now.” Dad said. “I'm trying to get Kate to eat.”

“It's still not fair!” Sam frowned and folded his arms.

“Sam. What did I just say? Enough.”

“I don't mean to be causing so much trouble—” I said, and then I started crying again. I covered my face with my hands again. 

“You upset Kate!” Dean said to Sam. 

“You started it, you were mean to her first!” Sam said.

“BOYS.” Dad said, and his tone made them get quiet right away.

I felt a hand on my arm. “Come over here and sit with me.” Dad said. He and Sam got out of their seat and I got up and slid into the other side first, then Dad sat next to me and put his arm around me. I leaned into his chest and kept my face covered with one hand while I sniffled.

I heard a woman's voice. “Y'all still need a minute?”

“Boys?” Dad said. 

“Is the little girl okay?” the waitress asked.

“Yes, she's just having a rough day today.”

“Let me know if I can get her anything special, m'kay?”

They ordered, and I sat there trying to get myself under control.

The boys drew on their placemats and Dad rubbed my back. Finally I stopped crying and sat up to wipe my face off.

A few minutes later, the waitress was back, putting plates down on the table. She put a plate in front of me that had some type of dessert on it. “That's raspberry-rhubarb cobbler. I know some people don't like rhubarb, but this is excellent. The cook always makes it for me when I'm feeling down and it perks me right up.”  
I looked up at her and she winked at me. 

“Thank you.” I said gratefully.

“That's not--” Sam started.

“Samuel.” Dad growled. “Not another word.”

I took a small bite of the cobbler and it was really good. I saw Dean and Sam both glancing at me as they ate. I held a forkful of the cobbler out to Dean first. He chewed it slowly, considering. “That's good.” he said. “What did she say was in it?”

“Raspberry and rhubarb.” Dad said.

I offered some to Sam next, and he ate it, frowning as he chewed. “I don't know.” he said hesitantly. “I don't like all the little seeds.”

I turned to Dad and offered him some.

He shook his head.”You eat it, Kate. You need it.”

 

“My name is Kate, I have a pet kangaroo, and I like to collect...kettles.” I looked at Dean. We were playing a game to pass the time in the car, since the boys had read all of their comics and didn't want to do any of the word searches.

“My name is Dean, I have a pet dog, and I like to collect...um...drums?” he looked at me.

I nodded. “That's fine. Sam?”

“Uh, my name is Sam, I have a pet snake, and I like to collect...um...I don't know...”

“How about swords?” Dean suggested. Sam's eyes lit up. “Yeah, swords!”

I looked up front. “Uh, Mr. Wi- I mean, Dad?” I said, and he glanced back and smiled. “My turn? My name is John, I have a pet jaguar, and I like... to collect jars.”  
“My name is Kate, I have a pet kangaroo, I like to collect kettles, and my favorite food is...kumquats!” 

Sam and Dean started laughing. “What is that?” Dean asked, and Sam said, “You're makin' that word up!” 

“It's a kind of fruit, I think.” I said.

“Yeah, it is.” Dad told the boys. “Who's next?”

“My name is Dean, I have a pet dog, I like to collect drums, and my favorite food is...dirt!” He grinned at Sam and Sam collapsed on me in a fit of giggles.   
Dean started laughing and tried to tickle me. 

“Hey!” I said, grabbing his hands. “There's no tickling in this game!”

“Tickle Kate!” Sam said, and then he started to also.

“Not fair, two against one!” I said, trying to grab Sam's hands too. 

“All right, enough with the rowdiness.” Dad said. After a moment he said, “Hands to yourselves. Game called on account of extreme silliness.” 

“Ow, Sam!” I exclaimed as he tried to pinch me.

“Sam. I said hands to yourselves. Are you listening to me?” Dad asked sternly. Sam sat up straight. “Uh, yes sir.” he said. 

“Well, it looks like we're almost there.” Dad said. 

Suddenly I felt nervous. What was Pastor Jim going to be like? Was he nice? Would he like me? Would he think that it was a bad idea that the Winchesters had taken me in?

 

 

We drove slowly past a church, and then there was forest on that side of the road for a while.

Then there was a dirt road with a mailbox on a post, in the shape of a church. Dad pulled in and drove slowly up the road, which turned out to be a driveway. He pulled over to the left where there was a large parking pad in front of a garage. 

“All right, we're here.” he said. We got out of the car slowly, stretching and yawning. 

The house was a huge old fashioned looking Victorian house with a wraparound porch that has a large swing at one end and a couple of rocking chairs. As we came up the steps, the door opened, and a man stood there, smiling widely. He had short brown hair with some gray in it and was wearing a button down shirt and khaki pants. 

“John!” he said. He stepped out onto the porch and shook hands with Dad, and then they hugged.

“Jim, how are you?” Dad asked warmly.

“Doing well, how was the trip?” he asked. 

“As well as to be expected with three kids in the car.” Dad said ruefully, rubbing the back of his neck, and Pastor Jim chuckled.

“Boys, how are you?” he asked. Both boys went to hug him, and he said, “I think you've both gotten taller since I last saw you.” He ruffled Sam's hair. 

Then he looked at me. “Hello.” he said.

“This is Kate.” Dad said, putting his hand on my back. 

Pastor Jim held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Kate. I've heard a lot about you, and I look forward to talking with you.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.” I said, shaking his hand. 

“Let's go inside, supper should be ready soon. You kids hungry?”

We followed him inside, and he said, “Dean, we've got a couple different pies for you, and Sam, the arugula and chard just started ripening in my garden.”

“What's roo-ga-luh?” Sam asked.

“It's a type of lettuce. You can help me pick some tomorrow, we've got several different vegetables in the garden that are ready for picking. You still like salad, right?”

“Yeah, cool!” Sam said. 

“Any of you like a drink?” 

We followed him into the kitchen. A woman stood at the stove.

“Boys, I don't know if you remember Rosemary.” he said. 

Dad hugged Rosemary, and she nodded at us. 

“Been a while since I saw you two.” she said to the boys. She looked at me. “You're the newest addition to the Winchester family? Welcome.” she smiled at me. “I heard you like to bake, we'll have to do some baking together and you'll have to share your secrets with me.”

“Boys-- I guess I should say kids-- I've got apple juice and grape juice, or sweet tea. Coffee, John?” The boys and I shook our heads.

“Yes please.” Dad said. 

“I'll start a fresh pot.” said Rosemary. 

Pastor Jim looked at us. “While we're waiting for the coffee to brew, how about a house tour?” 

We followed him as he led us around. On the lower level of the house, there was a living room, the kitchen with a large pantry, a dining room, Pastor Jim's study, a small bedroom, and then there was the library. 

 

“This is the library.” Pastor Jim said as we walked in. 

Three of the walls were lined with bookshelves, and all of them were stuffed with books of all shapes and sizes. There was a long desk that had two computers on it and a large table with chairs around it, and several overstuffed armchairs placed around the room as well. My mouth dropped open as I turned around, taking it all in.

“Oh...my ...goodness...” I murmured.

Dad laughed. “I think we've found Kate's Happy Place.” he said.

“You like to read, Kate?” Pastor Jim asked.

“Yes...” I said breathlessly. “Can I look at some of your books?”

“Of course. Let me just go over a couple of ground rules. You can take the books out of the library, but I don't want you reading them while you're eating or drinking. No food or drink in here either. Return them when you're done, please don't leave them laying all over the house. And those books, that are in those cabinets over there, are off limits, unless you ask me first. Those are antique books and sacred texts and the like. Some of them are so old that you need to wear special gloves to handle them. Other than that, you're free to browse to your heart's content.” 

“Thank you!” I said warmly. 

“Wait a minute.” Dad said. “We need to make a rule about how much reading Kate is allowed to do.” 

“What do you mean, John?” Pastor Jim looked at him with a frown. “I don't want put a limit on her reading. Kids should be allowed to read as much as they want.”  
“Well, this one will stay up all hours reading if you let her.” Dad put his hands on my shoulders from behind me. “I need to decide on a bedtime and how long she's allowed to read. I had made a rule about that when she was staying with us earlier in the summer.”

I thought back to that- it seemed so long ago now.

“Bedtime at 10 pm. You can read for an hour before then, or two hours, but at 10 o'clock, the book goes away and the lights go off. How does that sound?” Dad asked me, squeezing my shoulders. 

I tilted my head back to look at him. “I guess.” I said. He let go of my shoulders and I turned around, looking at the shelves again. 

“And Kate- I'm going to be checking up that you're following that rule while I'm away, and if you're not... then you and I will be having a talk when I get back. Do you understand?” He caught my eyes and looked at me meaningfully.

“Uh, yes sir.” I said, swallowing uneasily. I was going to have to watch myself, because I did not want to end up having that kind of 'talk' with him any time soon.

 

We went to the second floor of the house. Upstairs were several bedrooms of differing sizes. The boys picked a room that had two double beds in it. Mr. Winchester said he would sleep in there with them. I picked a small room at the end of the hall with a single bed. There wasn't much furniture in it besides the bed- a low bureau, an old looking wooden desk with a wall shelf above it, and a wooden rocking chair. It seemed cozy to me and I didn't mind how small it was. As we walked back downstairs the boys thundered down last and Dean jumped off of the 5th step. 

As Sam got to the bottom, Dad turned to them. “I'm going to tell you this now, boys.” he said. “No running on the stairs. You two sound like a herd of elephants. You will walk, and you will walk all the way down, no jumping or acrobatics.” He put his hand on Dean's head and turned it to look up at him. “Is that clear?” he asked. 

“Yes sir.” they both said. 

“Good. I'm going to go out to the car and bring in our bags. I'd like you to take them up to the bedrooms please.” He went out the front door and we followed Pastor Jim into the kitchen, where he was getting out coffee mugs. 

“Would you three help me set the table?” Rosemary asked.

“Sure.” I said, and we followed her into the dining room.

“At our house, Dean sets the table and I fold the napkins.” Sam told her.

“It sounds like you two already have a system worked out.” Rosemary said. “Kate, how about you put the plates and glasses out and Dean can put out the silverware and Sam can fold and put the napkins down?”

She put a stack of plates on the table and then moved a pile of silverware off of the top plate. Dean and I busied ourselves walking around the table and setting the plates, glasses, and silverware out. 

Mr. Winchester appeared in the doorway. “Your bags are at the bottom of the stairs.” he told us. “When you're done here I want you to take them to your rooms.” 

“Yes sir.” I said, and the boys mumbled “Yessir.” 

Sam put the last napkin down and then looked at Dean. Suddenly they sprinted out of the room, one of them calling, “Race ya!” and we heard their feet pounding up the stairs. 

I went into the kitchen. Dad was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee, and he shook his head. “Those boys...” he murmured. He looked at me. “Kate, could you remind them that I said no running on the stairs?”

“Sure.” I said, and went to get my bag. He had brought in my suitcase and my tote full of my books. 

As I walked by the room that the boys were sharing, I glanced in. They were both jumping on the beds. I shook my head. “You two are just itching to get in trouble, aren't you?” I looked at them. “Dad told me to tell you no running on the stairs.” 

I walked to the room that was going to be mine and set my bags down. I wondered how long we were going to be staying here, and if I should even bother unpacking. I could ask tonight, at dinner. 

I went down the hall again and started to walk down the stairs. Sam and Dean came racing past me, thundering down the steps again, laughing, and I got shoved into the banister and banged my hip on it. 

“Ow!” I gasped. 

Sam jumped from the 4th step and landed right at Dad's feet. He was standing there with his hands on his hips, looking annoyed. “Boys!” he said loudly. “What did I tell you about the stairs?”

“Uh, not to run.” Dean said, staring at his feet. He was breathing hard and his face was red.

“Or jump.” Sam said guiltily. 

“And now look, one of you bumped into your sister, and hurt her!” Dad looked up at me. “Are you okay, Kate?” he asked.

I walked the rest of the way down. “Yeah, I'm fine.” I said, rubbing my hip. 

He looked at Dean and Sam. “Apologize to Kate!” 

“Sorry, Kate.” They both said, unable to meet my eyes.

“All right.” Dad said firmly. “You two are going to practice walking up and down the stairs-- and I mean walking-- until I am satisfied that you will be able to go up and down those stairs without running.” He pointed up the steps. “Go.” He looked at me. “Dinner's almost ready, go ahead in and sit down.” he told me. “We'll be in in a couple minutes.”

I walked into the kitchen and asked, “Is there anything else I can help with?”

Rosemary turned from the stove. “No, we've got it. You go on in and sit down.” She smiled at me. I walked into the dining room, feeling a little intimidated. I didn't know where to sit.

Pastor Jim was standing at the end of the table, carving what looked like a turkey.

“I know it's not Thanksgiving,” he said. “But it seemed an appropriate meal given that we're all together again, and I'm thankful for my family.” 

“Oh, are you related?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, I served with John, and I baptized both boys and I'm their Godfather.” he said. “Family doesn't have to be blood.” He smiled at me. 

“-don't want to have to tell you again.” Dad was saying as he walked in with the boys. They both looked sulky. 

“Well, should we sit?” Dad asked. “Who's sitting where?”

Rosemary brought in two serving bowls and Pastor Jim went out to the kitchen again.

Sam and Dean wanted me to sit between them, so we sat on one side of the table. Pastor Jim sat at the head, and Rosemary sat next to him, and then Dad. 

We were quiet for a few minutes as the food was passed around. It was very much like a Thanksgiving meal- turkey, salad, fresh green beans, mashed potatoes, and rolls. 

I took a little bit of turkey, a couple of green beans, and some mashed potatoes.

“Not hungry, Kate?” Pastor Jim asked.

I shook my head. “It all looks great.” I said, feeling guilty. “I just—haven't been able to eat much since—since--”

“I'd like to know if Kate could spend some time talking to you, Jim, about her... experiences.” Dad said smoothly. 

Pastor Jim nodded. “That's no problem. We can talk tomorrow if you want. Just let me know when you're ready.”

The boys were actually quiet for once as they ate, and they ate a lot. When the meal was over, I stood up to start clearing the table.

“Oh no, you sit down, darlin'.” Rosemary said. “Jim and I'll get the table, y'all rest tonight. We'll start you on chores tomorrow.” She winked at me. 

When the food and dishes were cleared away, pie and coffee were served. I shook my head when pie was offered to me.

“Could I-- could I go look at the books in your library, sir? “ I asked Pastor Jim shyly.

“Sure.” he said. “Enjoy yourself.”

I walked into the library and stood there for a moment, breathing in the smell of the books. I walked over to one of the shelves and started looking at them. There were lots of books on folklore and myths and legends of other countries. There were books on psychology and religion. There were books on different types of animals and different places- landmarks, sacred places, haunted places. I was fascinated by all of them. 

“What do you think?” 

I turned around. “I think it's amazing!”

Dad came into the room, smiling at me. “ Is your hip okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it's fine.” I said. 

“How are you doing?” he asked me, coming over to me. “I'm proud of you for eating what you did at dinner.”

I blushed. “I actually felt a little bit hungry.” I said. 

“Maybe you'll start feeling hungry again once we're off the road and settled in, in a couple of days.”

“How long will we be here?”

“Well, that's a good question. Bobby will be here tomorrow, and I have another friend coming also, he may get here tomorrow or the next day, and we've got to figure out where the nest is.”

“Nest?” I asked.

“Yes, vampires live in nests. We'll have to figure out where it is and then stake it out to figure out their patterns of movement and how many there are so we know what we need to take them out.” 

“You mean--” I felt uneasy.

He nodded. “I don't want you worrying about that. All right? We've got all the tools we need.” 

I sighed. “Okay, I'll try not to.” 

He hugged me briefly. “I wanted to let you know that it's 8:30 right now. Boys are going to bed in half an hour and Sam is looking for you so you could watch some cooking show together. I want you to start getting ready before 10:00 so that you can be in bed with lights out at 10. All right?”

“Yes sir. “ I said. “Where is Sam?”

“The boys are in the living room.” he told me. 

 

“Katie, get back here! I'll be ruined, and it will be all your fault! I'm DEAD, and this is ALL YOUR FAULT!!” My father yelled.

I stood at the end of the hallway in my parent's house, frozen in place...

...Then my mother was there in front of me, with holes in her neck that were streaming blood... 

“Katie, you should have saved me. This is all your fault.” ...Blood began to pour from her eyes and she walked up to me and took my upper arms in her hands... She bent her head and opened her mouth and I saw fangs come out of her gums... I opened my mouth and tried to scream but no sound came out...

 

Someone was holding on to my upper arms and I felt them pulling me up into a sitting position. I tried to jerk my arms away and finally was able to scream, but it was a little breathless sound.

“Has she been having nightmares a lot?” I heard a voice say from a distance.

“Yes, every night since.” This voice was closer.

I opened my eyes. Mr. Winchester was sitting on my bed, holding my arms. He looked at me with concern on his face.

“It's all my fault!” I said. “If I had gone with him and agreed maybe he wouldn't have killed my mother, it's all my--” 

“No, Kate, your mother was already gone. Your father let the vampire have her first thing. You had no control over that situation.”

I started crying helplessly and he pulled me into his arms.

Pastor Jim had been standing just inside the room, and he walked over to the bed. “Kate, would you like me to bring you some chamomile tea?”

I looked up at him. “What's that?” I asked, sniffling.

“It's a tea that can help you relax and go back to sleep. I can bring some to you.”

I shook my head. “I—I don't want to go back to sleep right now.”

“All right. Come down to the kitchen and you can have something there. Sometimes a change of scenery is good when you've had a nightmare.” Pastor Jim turned and left the room.

Mr. Winchester looked at me. “You need a minute, or you want to go downstairs now?”

“I want to go downstairs.” I said. He stood up and helped me get out of bed, then we walked downstairs to the kitchen together.

 

Pastor Jim turned from the stove and poured hot water from a kettle into a mug that was on the table. 

“Go ahead and sit.” He motioned to the seat. “Would you like a piece of pie?”

I sat down where the mug was and cupped my hands around it. The warmth felt good. I shook my head. “No thank you.”

He set a sugar bowl and a jar of honey out and put a spoon down next to the mug.

Dad sat down next to me. He had a glass with brown liquid in it. Pastor Jim set a plate with a slice of pie in front of him, and then another one across the table. He sat down and took a bite of pie. 

“Are these nightmares getting worse?” He asked, looking at me. 

“Um, I don't know.” I said. I sipped the tea. It tasted pretty bland, so I added some sugar to it. 

“I don't...I don't want to talk about it right now.” I shivered involuntarily. 

Dad reached over and put his hand on my shoulder. “Just remind yourself that you're safe now.” he told me, giving me a reassuring smile. 

I nodded and tried to drink my tea.

“How about tomorrow after breakfast, you and I have a talk?” Pastor Jim said to me. “I have to go over to the church first thing, but I'll be back mid-morning. How does that sound?”

“Okay.”I said. “I don't know what to talk about though.” 

“Well, I'd like to hear about these nightmares you've been having. And you've just been through a big life change, and I'm sure you've got some big feelings about that. Grieving can be a difficult process, and talking about it can help sometimes.” He smiled at me. 

I drank the tea and listened as they chatted. Dad filled Pastor Jim in on how they boys had been doing at school. All of a sudden I yawned.

“Come on, I'll walk you back upstairs and tuck you in again.” Dad said. I followed him back to my room and got in bed, and was dozing by the time he walked out if the room.


	19. Chapter 19

Someone was shaking my shoulder. I groaned and rolled over. 

“Good morning, Kate!” Sam sang. “Time to wake up! Rosemary is making french toast!”

“Uhh...okay.” I mumbled. I felt exhausted. 

“C'mon, come downstairs!” He tugged on my hand and I sat up, yawning. I followed him downstairs into the kitchen. 

Dad and Dean were sitting at the kitchen table and Rosemary was standing at the stove. 

“Here she is!” Sam said.

Dad looked at me and took in my tired face. “Sam, did you wake her up? I told you to go check on her, not wake her up.” Dad said.

I sat down next to him and Sam sat next to me. 

“Oh.” Sam said. “I thought you said wake her up. Sorry.”

I shook my head. “It's okay.”

Rosemary brought over another plate and a fork. “How many pieces do you want, Kate?” she asked me.

I shook my head again. “None, thank you.”

“How about some fruit? I've got canteloupe slices in the fridge.”

“No thanks.” I glanced over at Dad, who was looking at me.

“Kate, I'd like for you to eat something.” he said quietly.

“I just woke up!” I said irritably. “Can you at least let me wake up a little more before you start trying to cram food down my throat?”

Dad stood up suddenly and beckoned me. “Come with me.” he said curtly. I followed him into the library and he closed the door. Then he took my arm and pulled me close to him, and swatted my butt.

“Ow!” I exclaimed, suddenly very awake. “What was that for?”

“If you recall, I told you yesterday to lose the attitude and that yesterday was the last time I wanted to talk to you about it. And yet here were are, the next morning, and you're still giving me attitude about eating. I'm not going to stop bothering you about eating; you are my child and I am concerned about you and want to make sure you stay healthy.”

My eyes filled with tears when he said I was his child. I still wasn't used to the fact that he cared about me like that. 

“Now, do I need to just automatically give you a spanking every morning as a reminder to not give me attitude? Is that what it's going to take? Because I will not put up with this any longer.”

“No.” I said sullenly. I din't know why I said it like that, but suddenly I was not in the mood to be scolded any longer. I hadn't wanted to get up yet anyway.

“Excuse me?” he asked sternly. 

“I said no!” I snapped. I started to turn away. “Can I go now?”

“No you may not!” he said tightly, and he grabbed my wrist and walked me over to the sofa.

“Get off!” I tried to pull away. “You're mean!” 

“No, Kate, I am being your parent who cares about you.” He sat down on the arm of the sofa and turned me over his lap. He swatted me once and I cried out and tried to get up. He put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his side. “Your giving me attitude is very disrespectful, young lady, and I'm not going to put up with it any more. You need to apologize to me.”

“Sorry.” I said in a sulky voice. And then his hand was peppering my butt with hard swats until I burst into tears. “I'm sorry!” I exclaimed. “I'm sorry, Dad!”   
He swatted me a couple more times and then stood me in front of him. “This ends now.” he said firmly. “No more of this disrespect and no more attitude. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir.” I sobbed, and he pulled me into a hug. 

“I'm sorry.” I said again, now feeling terrible about how I had been acting. “Sometimes I just can't help what I'm saying.” 

“You're still getting used to being in a family where you're cared about.” he said. “I'm setting boundaries for you and you're pushing against them. It's what you're supposed to do.”

“It is?” I sniffled and looked up at him.

“Well...not too much.” he smoothed my hair back from my face. “You're going to give me gray hair if you keep this up.” 

“You...you said I was your child.” I said hesitantly. “And yesterday you called me sister when you were talking to the boys.” 

“Are you okay with that?” He asked me. 

I put my face into his shirt. “Yes...”I felt shy talking about it. “I just get scared that...that you're going to realize that you made a mistake.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I get sassy or I say something rude and I don't mean to say it, and then I feel so bad after I say it, and then I get worried that you're going to just get fed up and...and send me away. When I was little and I was bad, my parents would lecture me and then send my to my room, but then I would stay in there all day. I don't know if they forgot about me or if they just wanted me out of the way but it made me feel like they didn't want me around because of how bad I had been.” I started crying again, unable to help myself.

Dad hugged me tightly for a moment, then he sighed. “I'm sorry that that happened to you.” he told me. “The guidelines are that when you're putting a child in time out you give them one minute for each year, so for example a 4 year old would sit in time out for 4 minutes. I've never heard of making a child stay in their room all day. I imagine it must have made you feel very bad about yourself.”

“It did.” I sobbed. 

“Well, I want you to remember that things are different now. You're part of our family, and I'm not going to treat you like your parents did. I may get on you about staying up late reading and making sure you eat, and I may warm your butt from time to time, but I'm not going to reject you-- for anything. You don't have to worry about that, Kate. I meant it when I said I wanted to adopt you.” 

That made me cry harder, and I cried for a few minutes while he held me and rubbed my back. 

“Thank you.” I said, sitting up and sniffling. I wiped my face with the hem of my pajama top. 

He smiled at me. “Ready to go back to the kitchen?”

I nodded, and hugged him again.

“I'd like you to eat at least a piece of toast and have some juice. Will you do that?”

“Okay.” I nodded.

We started walking back to the kitchen. “And I'll tell Sam to let you sleep, next time.”

When we went into the kitchen both boys looked at me with concern. Dad went over to the counter and started the toaster.

Sam touched my arm and asked quietly, “You okay?”

I nodded and gave him a little smile. 

“Jim's over at the church this morning.” Rosemary told us. “He'll be back around 10, and then I've got to go over and do some work over there. I'll be back to start lunch about 1:00, is that all right, or is it too late?”

“I can get the boys lunch if they want it earlier.” Dad said. He brought a plate with a piece of toast on it and a glass of orange juice over to me and set them down in front of me, then patted my shoulder. 

“Thank you.” I murmured, looking up at him. 

“That's all right, it's part of my job.” Rosemary brought over a plate with a stack of french toast slices on it and sat down. “If any of you kids wants to come with me, you're welcome to.”

“What do you do at the church?” Sam asked.

“I do a lot of odd jobs, I send out weekly bulletins and answer the phones. Today I've got to make copies of the Sunday bulletin and then fold them.”

“Sounds boring.” Sam said. 

“Sam!” Dad admonished, and Rosemary laughed. “Well, at least he's honest. It can be, but if there' s someone to talk to, it goes by faster.”

“Unless it involves running or jumping, these two aren't going to be interested.” Dad said, motioning to Sam and Dean. “Speaking of jumping, were you two jumping on the beds last night? My mattress was off of the metal frame.”

“Uh--” Sam said, and he and Dean looked guilty. 

Dad waited a moment, then said, “Boys, report!” They both stood up in front of him, and Dean said, “Uh, yes sir, we were, uh, jumping...for a little bit.”

“And are you supposed to be jumping on beds?” Dad's voice was hard.

“No sir.” they both whispered, looking nervous.

“No more jumping on the bed!” He leaned toward them, looking them both in the eyes.

“No-more-mon-keys-jumping-on-the-bed.” I chanted softly, and then Sam looked over at me and caught my eye, and we both started laughing.

Dad sat up and turned toward me. “What?” he asked. 

“It's that preschool rhyme, 'five little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head'...you know.” I said, laughing. I couldn't help myself.

“Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, no more monkeys jumping on the bed!” Sam said, laughing loudly and jumping up and down.

“All right, settle down, you two.” Dad said, shaking his head. “Boys, no more jumping on beds, I mean it, or you're going to be two monkeys with sore bottoms. Understand?”

“Yes sir,” they both said, and he reached for them and hugged them.

“There is a playground behind the church.” Rosemary said. 

“Ooh, can we go? Dean asked. “Please, Dad?”

“Maybe this afternoon Pastor Jim and I can take you over.” he said. “Finish up your breakfast.”

They sat down and finished eating. I helped Rosemary clean up the breakfast dishes and then went to watch cartoons in the living room with the boys for a while.

 

Pastor Jim came into the living room. “Kate, would you like to go talk now?”

“Oh, uh, okay.” I said, feeling unsure of myself.

I followed him into his study and he closed the door. 

His study had several bookcases, a large desk on one side of the room with two chairs in front of it, and then an area on the other side of the room with a love seat and an armchair. On the wall behind the desk was a large white board/corkboard combination, with a map pinned up onto it and some newspaper clippings.   
“Let's sit over here.” He led me over to the sofa and sat down in the armchair. “Would you like some water?” he asked. There was a pitcher with ice water and two glasses on a table next to the sofa.

“No thank you.” I said, feeling nervous. 

I looked at him. “What, uh, what do you want to talk about?”

“Why don't you tell me about the night with the vampire.” He said. “Are you okay with talking about it?”

“Uh, I guess?” I felt uncertain.

He leaned forward, and put his elbows on his knees. “Let me tell you a couple of things, Kate. This is a judgement--free zone, and you can tell me anything. I've been a hunter for a long time, and I taught John some of what he knows. We were together in Vietnam and we both trust each other with our lives. So you can tell me anything, and you don't have to worry about if you think it sounds crazy or whatever. Rosemary too, she was in the hunting life, so she has a lot of knowledge about things as well.

“She-- she was?” I had no idea that women could be hunters. 

“Yes, she and her husband were hunters together. She stopped after they had kids, and just concentrated on raising their kids and doing research...but then she lost her family. She basically fell apart, and came to me to help put her back together, and decided to stay here and help me. She does housekeeping and cooking and gardening, and she helps with research and weapons maintencence as well, and she works over at the church too. So if you would rather talk to a woman about some things, you can talk to her, all right?”

“Okay.” I said. I took a deep breath, and started to talk. I ended up crying, and he got up and got an afghan off of the back of the sofa and put it around my shoulders. He sat back down and looked at me. 

“That sounds like a terrifying night.” he said. “And you were incredibly brave the way you handled yourself. John told me about the shtriga too. I think you have a remarkable amount a strength, Kate.” he smiled at me.

“I don't feel strong.” I said. “I feel like-- like I don't know if I'm coming or going, and then I get all sassy and rude and angry, and then the next minute I'm crying!”

“Your lashing out and having emotions that go all over is normal for someone who is grieving and also for someone who is still figuring things out.” he told me. “You've been through a couple of scary experiences, and you lost your parents. Even though they were not good parents, you're still going to grieve them.”

I felt my face get red for some reason, and I looked down at my lap.

“John told me about your father, and about how they treated you.” Pastor Jim said. “I hope that's all right with you.”

“Yes.” I whispered. For some reason I felt ashamed that he knew about it. 

“I'm sure you have all kinds of feelings about them as well.” he said. “They were neglectful, and abusive, and it's going to take some getting used to being in a family where it's not like that. You don't know what the rules are because you didn't have any. You're going to be testing the waters now, and that's completely normal. Try not to feel bad about it when you get sassy; remember that 'normal' kids sass their parents too.”

My eyes filled with tears. “I didn't know that anything was wrong with the way my parents were and how they treated me. I just thought it was the way it was.”

“Well, of course, you didn't know any different. But now you know that it can be different, and it's going to be different from here on out.” 

“I just-- get so angry about it sometimes.” I said.

He nodded. “That's normal too. All of your reactions are normal. You're going to have to work through that anger though. Don't push any of your feelings down, make sure you let yourself experience them, even if they are uncomfortable.” He stood up and walked over to his desk, opened a drawer and took something out. Then he walked back over to me and handed me a book.  
“This is a journal.” he said. “Start writing in it, every day, all right? Write everything that's happened to you, and how you feel about everything. Write about what happened to you today, even if you're writing 'Sam and Dean were really annoying today'. It will help.” he smiled at me

There was a knock on the door. “Yes?” Pastor Jim called. 

The door opened, and Dad stuck his head in. “Sorry to interrupt- Singer just pulled in.”

“All right.” Pastor Jim stood up. “Can we continue this tomorrow, Kate?” he asked.

“Okay.”I said. “Thanks.” I felt embarrassed. “And thanks for the journal.”

“You're welcome.” he smiled at me. We walked into the living room, and Dad walked next to me. “How did it go?” he asked.

“Okay, I guess.”I said. He smiled at me. Sam and Dean were standing up in front of the sofa, with excited looks on their faces.

“Dad, Uncle Bobby is here!” Dean said.

“I know, son.” Dad said smiling at him.

There was a knock on the front door, and Pastor Jim opened it. 

“Hey, Jim.” said a rough voice. Bobby Singer came into the house carrying a military-style duffle bag.

Dad and Pastor Jim both hugged Bobby and shook his hand.

“Uncle Bobby!” Sam and Dean both said, and ran up to him. He bent down and hugged each of them, ruffling Sam's floppy hair when he stood up straight. Then Bobby looked over at me.

“I understand that a welcome is in order for you.” he said.

“Umm...sorry?” I didn't understand what he meant.

“Welcome to the family.” he said. 

“Oh.” I felt embarrassed. “Thanks.” 

He smiled at me. “Maybe you can teach these little rascals some manners.” he teased, pushing the back of Dean's head gently. 

He dropped his duffle and opened it, taking out a couple of plastic shopping bags. 

“Somethin' for for the two of you to do while you're here.” he said. The boys started to go through the bag. There were a bunch of action figures and little toys that went with them like cars and stuff, and a couple boxes of Legos. 

“Wow, cool! Thanks, Uncle Bobby!” Sam hugged him again.

Bobby looked at me and handed me a smaller bag. “I know you're a little too old for toys, and I didn't really know what kinda stuff you like, so I got ya some books.”  
In the bag was a dessert cookbook, a book written by the guy who had the cooking show that I like and a “Guide to Baking Cookies.”

“Thank you!” I said gratefully, getting tears in my eyes. I felt amazed that he would include me. I stepped over to hug him awkwardly and he patted my back.“Now that you're part of the family, you can call me Uncle Bobby... if ya like.” he shrugged. “It's up to you.”

“Okay, thanks.” I said. “Uncle Bobby.” He looked at me and we smiled at each other.

“Dad can we go to the playground?” Dean asked.

“Maybe this afternoon, champ.” Dad said, rubbing his hand over Dean's hair.

Sam and Dean sat down and dumped their stuff out onto the floor.

“Come look at this, Kate!” Sam said excitedly. “You can help us with the Legos!”

“Let's go into the kitchen for some coffee.” Pastor Jim said. 

I sat down on the floor with the boys and the adults went into the kitchen. 

We worked on making some Lego cars for the action figures. 

Dad came into the room after a while. “Do you want to check out the playground?” he asked. 

Sam and Dean jumped up. “Yes!” they both said.

“All right, clean up.” Dad told them. “Come to the kitchen when you're ready.” He looked at me. “Kate, are you coming too?”

“Um, no.” I said. “I'm going to go hang out in the library.”

After they had gone outside, I went to the library and looked at the books again, getting a couple of the folklore books off of the shelf and reading them. Eventually I heard someone calling my name. 

Dad came to the door. “There you are.” he said. “You've been in here reading the whole time?”

I smiled. “Yes!” I said, and he laughed.

“Well, it's lunch time, come and eat something.” I put the book down and walked with him to the dining room. Rosemary had turkey meat and stuff to make sandwiches. 

As we walked in Pastor Jim was saying, “We'll need to sit down and discuss the plans later tonight.” 

“We'll need to talk about paperwork too, John.” Bobby said. 

“Bobby's the one who can get you a new birth certificate.” Dad told me. “We'll need to sit down and talk about your name and some other details.”

“My name? What do you mean?” I looked at Dad and then at Bobby.

“Well, I don't know if you're going to want to keep your name, or change it...you could change it to something similar, and give yourself a new middle name.”

“I don't have a middle name.” I said. “My name is just...Kathryn Young.”

“It don't have to be Kathryn, you can change it to something else that also uses Kate as a nickname.” Bobby said. “Your choice, kid.”

“Oh, wow.” I said. Thinking about changing my name made everything seem more real. I really was in a completely different life than my old one. This time when I thought about it, it didn't make me sad. I knew that I was better off where I was, and I felt like I belonged here. 

 

After lunch was finished, I helped Rosemary clean up the kitchen. 

Dad came in when we were almost done and said to me, “Kate, would you come with me please?” 

I got up and followed him into the library. Pastor Jim was sitting at his desk and Uncle Bobby was standing next to it. He looked uncomfortable.

“When I went into your father's safe, I took out all the documents that were in there.” Dad said. He looked uncomfortable too. “I found some that were related to what your father was doing with the government finances. But ...I also found some documents related to you.”

“What do you mean?” I knew that my parents had kept all of my report cards and things like vaccination records.

“Well...you weren't really their child. You were adopted.”

I looked at Dad, stunned. “What?!” 

“Yes...and...from what I could gather, it was a black market adoption...I think they took you from a couple who had been killed by ghouls.”

“What is that? What do you mean?” I looked at Dad and then at Uncle Bobby.

“Ghouls will take over a person's likeness and their life, they have all their memories and everything, and they drink the blood of the person and eventually kill them.” Uncle Bobby said.

“So you're telling me that my real parents were ghouls? I'm a monster?” I gasped.

“No, no, your parents were regular people, the ghouls came in and took over their lives and killed them, and then took you...and then your parents got you from them.” Dad looked at me with a serious expression. “It seems like your father was involved with a lot of different supernatural types of beings for a long time. There are other records of other things--”

“Wait.” I said. “You mean to tell me that my real parents were normal people, and some messed up creatures came and killed them and stole me and then my—father adopted me through the black market—and---and after all that, ended up he was going to give me to—to a---” 

Anger, no, rage, boiled up in me. I screamed in frustration, and then turned and ran out of the room. I ran through the house, hearing voices calling after me, “Kate! Stop!” 

I ran through the front yard, stopping at the big tree in the far corner, and I balled up my fists and punched the trunk over and over. It hurt my hands, and I scraped my knuckles on the bark.

I screamed again, tears pouring down my face, and leaned forward, banging my head on the tree trunk.

“Kate--” I heard a voice behind me and felt hands on my shoulders, turning me around. It was Dad.

“I'm not going to let you hurt yourself.” he said, “Or beat up defenseless trees.”

My hand were still balled up into fists, and I drummed them on his chest. He took my wrists and wrapped my arms around him, then hugged me tightly. I started crying harder. We stood there until I had calmed down, and then we walked back to the house, him still holding me tightly.

Sam and Dean were still in the living room, and their faces were pale and worried.

“What's wrong? Is Kate okay?” they asked.

“We'll talk about it later, boys.” Dad said. “She's upset right now, but it will be all right.”

He led me into the kitchen. Pastor Jim and Uncle Bobby were in there, and there was a glass bottle with amber liquid in in on the counter, and four glasses. Pasotr Jim was pouring a small amount in each glass.

Dad pulled a chair out and said, “Sit down and let me take a look at your hands.” 

He sat down in front of me and I put my hands on the table. My chest was still heaving and I was shaking.

“What'd she do to herself?' Uncle Bobby asked.

“She was hitting that big maple in the far corner of the yard.” Dad said, picking up my left hand. The knuckles on both hands were swollen and scraped raw. My right hand was bleeding. 

He gently moved my fingers. “Does this hurt?”

I gasped. “A little bit.” I said. 

“I don't think anything is broken.” he said. “We'll need to bandage the scrapes and put some ice on the swelling.” 

“I don't care.” I said, starting to cry again. I couldn't stop my breath from hitching.

“Well, I do.” Dad said. “And that's what we're going to do.” 

“I'll get my med kit.” Pastor Jim said. “Bobby, can you make up some ice packs?”

“Sure.” Uncle Bobby said. He handed Dad two glasses. Dad took them and put one on the table. He handed me the other one. There was a small amount of liquid in it. I looked at him.

“What?” I asked.

“It's whiskey.” he told me. “It will help calm you down.”

“But... you said I wasn't supposed to drink.” I whispered, remembering the spanking he had given me when he had caught me after Brett's brothers party.

“I know, but I'm saying this is okay. This is more like a medicinal dose. Go ahead.” he nodded.

I picked up the cup and could smell how strong it was. The liquid burned my throat and I coughed as it went down. Bobby took the glass and rinsed it under the tap, then gave me a glass of water. 

Pastor Jim came back into the kitchen with a large metal box. He set it on the table and opened it. Dad stood up and Pastor Jim took his place in the chair. He took out a white towel and laid in on the table, then picked my hand up and placed it on the towel.

“I started to check out her fingers.” Dad said. “There is some swelling starting, but I don't think anything's broken.”

Pastor Jim picked up my hand and began to gently move my fingers, glancing at me. “Does that hurt? What about when I do that?”

He put my hand on the table. “Make a fist for me. Wiggle your fingers. Now spread them out. Okay.” He looked up at Dad, who was hovering over me. “I think you're right, nothing is broken. She's got good range of motion, there is some pain with movement, but that's to be expected because of the contusions. There might be some internal bruising of the bone, but I think the swelling is just from the impact of her hitting the tree. If something was broken she wouldn't be able to move anything without a significant amount of pain.” Pastor Jim looked at me. “All right, Kate, I'm going to clean your wounds with some peroxide, and then bandage them. It will sting.”

He got out a brown bottle and poured some liquid over my knuckles, and blotted it dry. Then he put a couple of gauze pads on my knuckles and wrapped a long piece of gauze around my hand to hold them in place. He then put tape on the gauze. “I'll put some antibiotic ointment on later.” he said. “I want you to keep some ice on your knuckles for now to get the swelling down.”

Uncle Bobby brought over two baggies filled with ice. 

“Dishtowels are in the second drawer down.” Pastor Jim told him. Bobby got two of them out and set them on the table. Pastor Jim cleaned and bandaged my other hand and then said, “Why don't you go sit for a while with the boys and watch some cartoons or something?”

We walked into the living room.

“Kate, are you okay?” Sam asked, his face worried. He and Dean looked at the bandages on my hands. “You look like a fighter!” Dean told me.

“Or a mummy!” Sam said.

I sat down, and Pastor Jim put a pillow on my lap, then secured the ice packs to my hands by wrapping the dish towels around my hands.

“I don't want you boys jumping all over her.” Pastor Jim said. “She needs to sit quietly with the ice on her hands for about 15 minutes.”

“Yessir.” the boys said. 

I couldn't stop thinking about what Dad had told me. I couldn't stop thinking about my parents, and how they treated me, and how un-parent-like they had been all my life. I had used to wonder if it was me, if it was because I wasn't good enough at my ballet lessons or piano lessons or getting good enough grades or anything. But after years of straight As and no change from them, I gave up wondering about it. 

I was still angry. I walked into Pastor Jim's study, where the men had gone. They were standing around the white board talking. All three of them turned when I came in. I walked over to his desk.

“I want to hunt.” I said to Dad, looking at him. “I want to be a hunter like you, and kill all those horrible creatures that take advantage of regular people and kill them. And if you won't teach me, I'll go find someone who will.”

“Whoa, easy.” Dad said. He stood up and came over to me. “I will teach you, Kate, if that's what you really want. But I want you to think long and hard about this before you make that commitment. This isn't an easy life for any of us, and it's dangerous. You're not going to be ready to hunt for a long time; you have a lot of training to get through first. And right now the emphasis needs to be on your education and safety. We're going to be moving around a lot, and it's not going to be easy, like I said. And you need to figure out where your motivation is. Are you doing this for revenge, or to help people, or what?”

“Who cares what my motivation is? These creatures deserve to die for what they do to people!”

“Kate, that's where you need to watch it. If your motivation is anger that can lead to misjudging situations and making bad moves. You need to come at it from a calm, rational point of view. I've known hunters who were motivated by revenge or by rage; they fought hard but they burned out quickly. I don't want that for you.” 

I sighed. “All right.” I said.

“Listen, I didn't mean to upset you before.” he told me. “I told you about your parents because I wanted you to have all the information about yourself before we fill out the adoption paperwork.”

“What would that matter?” I asked.

“I didn't know if you would want to try and track down your...real family first.” Dad looked uncomfortable.

“Probably be too hard to anyway. Black market adoptions are really hard to get any info on.” Uncle Bobby said.

“No, I belong with you.” I said to Dad, and then I started crying. My head felt a little funny at that point. He stood up and came over to me and hugged me for a few minutes.

 

 

I heard someone calling my name. “Kate!” 

I opened my eyes to darkness. I had no idea where I was. I could hear crickets and cicadas all around me. Then I heard footsteps and saw the small round circle of light from a flashlight bobbing towards me. 

“Kate, are you awake?” Dad came up to me, and a light was shined in my face. I squinted at the light. “Ow, too bright!” I complained. 

I felt his hand on my arm. “Come back inside.” he said. I looked around, realizing that I was halfway down the driveway. Pastor Jim came over to us too.

“Wait, how did I get out here?” I asked. “I- I don't remember--”

“You must have been sleepwalking.” Dad said.

We went up the stairs. Bobby was standing there with another flashlight. “She okay?” he asked.

“I'm fine.” I said.

“Let's go into my study.” Pastor Jim said. We followed him in and he shut the door. Dad motioned me over to the sofa and we sat down next to each other.   
“Were you dreaming or having a nightmare?” he asked me. 

“Um, I can't remember.” I said. “I don't think so.”

Pastor Jim glanced at Dad and Uncle Bobby. “That's what worries me.” 

I looked at them.”What do you mean?”

“Well, I'm wondering if the vampires are trying to lure you outside.” Pastor Jim said.

“That would mean that they're in the area.” Uncle Bobby said.

“Wait, can they do that?” I asked.

“Yes, they can, if they have something like some hair or some of your blood. Do you remember if your father ever took any of your hair or anything?” Pastor Jim questioned.

“No.” I said. “He wasn't home a lot...and when he was home it was late at night and I was asleep.”

“So he could have done anything and taken anything from you and you wouldn't have known it.” Dad said grimly. He looked at Pastor Jim. “And she's a pretty heavy sleeper, so I doubt it would have woken her up.” 

“Well, right now we have to assume that the vamps know that you're here and that they have something of yours and are trying to get to you.” Pastor Jim said. “So we need to be extra careful for the next couple of days.”

“Wait, you mean they're trying to get me to come out of the house so that they can—can--” I felt terrified at the thought. I started breathing shallowly, fear fluttering in my stomach. “What if they—what if-- oh no!” and I burst into tears.

I felt Dad put his arms around me. “Shh, Kate, it's all right. You're safe here, we're not going to let anything happen to you.”

“But- but I was just sleepwalking down the road! What if you hadn't noticed that I was gone?” My breathing was getting shallower.

“Don't worry.” Dad said soothingly. “Breathe, Kate. Deep breaths.”

“How can I not worry?” I burst out. “There are vampires after me!” I started to panic, and I grabbed his arms. “What if they get me and I die? What if they get me and they make me become one of them? What if—if--”

“Shh.” Dad said. “They're not going to get you. We're going to make sure of that.”

“We're gonna protect ya, kid.” Uncle Bobby came over and sat on the other side of me. “We'll make sure nothin' happens to ya. Ya gotta stick around and keep John's boys civilized.” he grinned at me, and Dad chuckled. 

Pastor Jim left the room, saying, “I'll be right back.”

In a couple of minutes he was back, with a glass of water and a tiny yellow pill. He held it out to me. “This is a sedative.” he said. “I normally don't do this, but you're so close to having a panic attack, and with your current state of mind I think you need it. “

I looked at Dad, and he nodded. “Go ahead, Pastor Jim was a medic in the military, he knows what he's doing.” 

I took the pill and swallowed it with some water. 

Dad turned and took an afghan off the back of the sofa. “Lay down here.” he said, standing up. “Close your eyes and relax, and I'll take you upstairs later.”   
I curled up on the end of the sofa, already feeling sleepy, and he covered me with the afghan. They walked over to the wall that had all the clippings and stuff pinned up. I fell asleep listening to their murmured voices.


	20. Chapter 20

I thought I heard one of the boys calling, “Daddy!” but I was too tired to get up. Then I heard footsteps, and opened my eyes. Sam and Dean were standing by my bed, and their faces were pale and worried looking. Tears had tracked their way down Dean's face.

Dad was standing at the foot of the bed looking at me with a worried look on his face, and Pastor Jim was walking over to the bed, carrying a black bag.

“Whass' wrong?” I asked, and my mouth felt dry like a desert. It felt like there was cotton wrapped around my brain. 

“We've been trying to wake you up for a while, Kate!” Sam said anxiously. “You wouldn't wake up!”

“Ohh...” I said, and I tried to sit up, but I felt too tired and like my body was heavy. 

“Boys, step aside and let Pastor Jim sit down.” Dad said.

“I'm going to look you over, Kate.” Pastor Jim said.

Sam and Dean moved over next to Dad and they both put their arms around him. He put an arm around each of their shoulders.

Pastor Jim sat down on the edge of the bed and opened his bag, taking out a stethescope.

“Did she respond at all when you first tried to wake her up?” He glanced over at the boys.

“Uh-uh,” Dean said. “It was like she was—like when Sam was--” and tears filled his eyes. He turned his face into Dad's side and sobbed once. 

Dad bent down and then picked him up. “Shh, Dean, it's all right, she's not sick like that. She's awake now, see?”

Dean buried his face in Dad's shoulder.

Pastor Jim took my arm. “Can you sit up?” he asked. He helped pull me up and I put my hand up to my head.   
“What is it, Kate?” he asked.  
“Dizzy.” I murmured.

He listened to my heart, and then got out a light and looked into my eyes and had me follow the light with my eyes. Then he took my blood pressure.   
“How are you feeling?” he asked me.

“Like I could sleep all day. My head feels like it's full of cotton and my mouth is dry.”

He looked up at Dad. “Well the good news is, this is temporary. I think the medicine last night was too strong for her. “ He looked back at me. “How do you react to medicine usually?”

“I dunno.” I said. “I haven't taken much, I don't get sick that often.”

He leaned over and put everything back in the bag. “All right. I think it's safe to assume that your body is sensitive to medication, so from now on we'll have to be careful with what we give you. Best thing for it now is just to let you sleep and let the medicine work its way out of your system.” 

He stood up. “Boys, you'll have to be quiet if you're up here, we need to let Kate rest for now.”

 

 

When I woke up later, I could smell something cooking. It smelled like tomato sauce. I stumbled to the bathroom, still feeling out of it, and then went downstairs. Everyone was in the kitchen eating lunch. Sam and Dean got up and ran up to me, Dean reaching me first. He hugged me tightly, looking up at me. “I got really scared before.” he said quietly. “When you wouldn't wake up it was like Sam all over again.”

I looked down at him. “I'm okay now.” I said. 

He let go of me and Sam hugged me. “I'm glad you're awake now so we don't have to be quiet any more!” he said with a grin. 

I walked over and sat down at the table. All the adults looked at me.   
“How are you feeling?” Pastor Jim asked me.

“Still kinda woozy.” I said. 

“You should eat and drink something, that will help the medicine clear out of your system too.” he told me. 

“We're having grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch, you want some?” Rosemary asked.

“Um, sure.” I said, yawning. 

Dad came over to me and patted my shoulder, smiling at me. 

“Dad, can we go to the playground after lunch?” Sam asked.

“Well-- no.” Dad said.

“Aww, why not?” Dean asked. 

“There's been... reports of a bear sighted in the area. It's not safe right now.” Pastor Jim said. 

“Can we play in the yard?” Sam asked.

“I know you want to go outside and run around, Sam, but the answer is no.” Dad said. “Not right now.”

“How are your hands?” Pastor Jim asked me.

“Sore.” I said. Rosemary brought a bowl of soup over to me and a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich on it. “Thank you.” I murmured.

“I'll check them after you eat.” Pastor Jim said. 

Dad cleared his throat. “I wanted to let you kids know that Uncle Bobby and I are leaving for a couple of days. We need to go help a friend of ours who is a hunter.”  
I looked at him, trying to figure out what he was really saying. I started to feel worried. 

“Are you gonna hunt the bear?” Sam asked.

“No, he needs help with something else.” Dad said. “While we're away, I expect you to be on your best behavior for Pastor Jim and Rosemary.”

“Of course they'll be on their best behavior!” Rosemary said with a smile. “I can't imagine these kids misbehaving!” 

Dad raised his eyebrows and said dryly, “You'd be surprised.”

“Boys, bring your dishes over here.” Rosemary said. They got up and cleared the table, and Pastor Jim sat down next to me and unwrapped my hands. My knuckles were bruised and still a little swollen, and the right hand had some scabs on it. 

“Let's keep the bandages on your right hand for now.” He said, and he re-wrapped that hand with clean gauze.

“I was going to ask you if you wanted to help me bake some bread today, but if your hands are still healing, I guess you shouldn't be kneading dough.” Rosemary told me with a smile.

“I'll bet the boys would like to help with that, they liked to help me bake cookies before.” I said. 

“All right, I'll get things started.” she said.

“Kate, could I see you in the study? Dad asked. I followed him in. Uncle Bobby was there standing by the desk, and Pastor Jim came in after a moment.

“Is the reason we have to stay inside really because of a bear?” I asked.

“No, we're not sure how close the vampires are, and I want the three of you to be safe.”

“You're going to hunt the vampires, aren't you?” I asked. 

They looked up at me. “Yes.” Dad said. 

“What if you get hurt?” I said quickly. “Let me come with you, I can help you, don't you just have to stab them in the chest with a stake? Please let me--”

Dad put his hand up. “No, Kate, absolutely not. You have no training whatsoever, and you're the one they're after.”

“But- but what if something happens to you?” I felt tears in my eyes.

Dad walked around the desk to me. “Nothing is going to happen, we're going to ask a couple of other hunters for help.”

“I don't want you to go!” I said, and he pulled me to him and hugged me. 

“I understand that you're scared, but we've got to do this.” he said.

“We'll be back in no time at all.” Uncle Bobby said. “Then y'all will be able to go outside again.” 

“I don't want to lose you!” I started crying and he hugged me tighter.

“You're not going to. I've been hunting for 6 years, Kate, I've got a lot of experience. It'll be okay.” He rubbed my back until I had calmed down, and then let me go. “The reason I asked you to come in here is because I wanted to get the adoption paperwork filled out before we leave today, so that we have it for the fall.”

“Why?” I asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you're going to go back to school in September, and we'll need the paperwork by then.” 

I looked at him, and I realized that my life was very different from what it was, and that it was going to be even more different in September, when I started a new school with what was going to amount to a new identity. Thinking about that made me nervous. 

Uncle Bobby spread out some documents on the desk. He looked at me. “You need to decide if you want to have the same birthday, or a different one. Have ya thought about the name?”

“I still want to be Kate.” I said. “I was looking at a website with names and I came across the name Kaitlin. I like that.”

Dad smiled at me. “Kaitlin. I like the sound of that.”

I looked at him and said, “Your wife's name was Mary?”

He looked a little uncomfortable. “Yes...?” He said slowly.

“Could I have that as my middle name?” I asked hesitantly, unsure if he would get offended or not. 

He blinked for a moment, looking surprised.

“Kaitlin Mary Winchester.” Uncle Bobby said. “Sounds great.”

Dad pulled me into a tight hug for a moment, and when he let me go, tears were on his cheeks. He smiled at me. “Thank you.” he whispered, wiping his eyes. 

Uncle Bobby grinned at both of us and clapped Dad on the back. 

“I want my birthday to be April 21st.” I said.

“Why is that?” Uncle Bobby asked.

I looked at Dad. “It's the first time I met you and the boys.”

Dad's face got red, and he put his hand up to wipe his eyes again. “Jesus, Kate!” he said with a chuckle. “You're intent on making me bawl my eyes out.”

Uncle Bobby ruffled my hair. “Sounds like a good choice, kid. Ya want the same birth year?”

“Yeah, that's fine.” I said. 

We filled out the paperwork together, and Pastor Jim said, “I think I can give this my blessing.”

“We can take this with us when we leave.” Dad said. “We need to talk strategy now, Kate, so could you excuse us?”

“Oh. Okay.” I hugged him and then left the room.

Rosemary and the boys were in the kitchen, and they were kneading bread dough.

“I wish you could do this, Kate!” Sam said with a grin. “This is fun!” 

“I've done it before.” I said. “I didn't knead my bread enough and it was really tough.”

“Well, I figured these boys will beat this dough up enough that the bread will melt in your mouth!” Rosemary said. She leaned over and took a handful of flour out of the canister that was on the table.

“Sam, you need a little bit more flour on the table.” she said. She sprinkled some in front of him, and then got up and went into the pantry.

“You have some flour on your nose.” I told him. 

He looked at me with confusion. “I do?”

I picked up a little bit off of the table and put it on his nose. “Yeah, you do!” I grinned at him. 

“Heeey!” he said, and he picked up some and threw it at me. 

I reached into the canister and took out a small clump and threw it at Dean. It landed in his hair. 

“Why you--” Dean said with a grin, and he pulled a piece of dough off and threw it at me. 

I ducked and it sailed over my shoulder. 

I grabbed another handful of flour and threw some at Sam and then at Dean. 

“I'm gonna get you, Kate!” Dean said, standing up. He leaned over and put his hand in the canister, and then pulled out a big handful of flour and threw it at me. It landed all over the table and Sam mostly. 

“HEY!” Sam yelped.

“What's going on in here?” Dad asked. 

I turned, and saw him, Uncle Bobby, and Rosemary all standing there looking at us. 

Dad put his hands on his hips. “I haven't even left yet and you're already misbehaving?” he asked, raising his eyebrow. 

“It's my fault, I started it.” I said. “Sorry.”

“Dustpan and broom are in the closet next to the pantry.” Rosemary said, and I went to get them. I wiped the spilled flour up off of the table while Dad brushed Sam off. 

“You'll need a bath tonight, Sammy.” he said. 

I got the broom out and swept all the flour up, and then sat down at the table. Rosemary stood watching the boys. “Guess I need to stay here and keep an eye on y'all to make sure you don't get into any more mischief.” she said. 

“We're ready to go.” Dad said. “So I need hugs from everyone.”

“You're leaving now?” I was surprised.

“We spent all morning packing up the car, Kate. You were asleep.” Dad told me. The boys got up and washed their hands so that they could hug Dad. 

Tears came to my eyes again as I hugged him. “I'm scared.” I whispered.

“I know you are. It will be okay.” Dad said quietly. 

“Kate, why are you crying? Daddy's just going hunting!” Sam said.

“Well, it's the first time that we're going away since she's become part of our family.” Dad explained to him. “Remember how upset you used to get when you were younger?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Sam said.

“So you'll have to be nice to her and make her feel better, like Dean used to make you feel better.”

“It's okay, Kate.” Dean came over to me and took my hand. “We'll be here with you.”

I looked at him and smiled. “Thanks, Dean.” 

 

 

“Come here to me...” said the vampire. But then he pushed me out of the way and put his hand up. Mr. Winchester was standing behind him with a gun, and the vampire flicked his wrist. The gun flew across the room, and then he moved his hand again, and Mr. Winchester was moving across the floor towards him. I stood there helplessly as the vampire bent his head and sank his fangs into Mr. Winchester's neck, and I watched as Mr. Winchester's skin became more and more pale. Then the vampire let him go and he fell to the floor. I felt a hand on my arm, turning me around. It was my father.   
“You're going to stay with us forever, Katie...” he said, and he grabbed me and bent his head as fangs appeared in his mouth.   
“No.” I said, 'No, NO!” 

 

“KATE! Kate, wake up!” I felt hands on my arms.  
I opened my eyes with a cry and looked up to see Rosemary sitting on the edge of the bed. “You were having some nightmare, darlin'.” she said. 

“The vampire...killed Dad...Mr. Winchester...is he okay?” I sat up and grabbed her hand. “Please, can you get in touch with him and find out if he's okay?” I felt scared and sad.

Pastor Jim came into the room just then. “Another nightmare?” he asked. 

I looked up at him. “Please call and find out if they're okay!” I begged. 

Because of my episode of sleepwalking, I had to stay in Pastor Jim's Panic Room, which was a special room in the basement that was guarded with all sorts of symbols and salt. It locked from the outside, so I wouldn't be able to leave. The room was small and ugly and I felt awful being in there, but Pastor Jim said it was the safest thing for me, since they would be able to make sure I was locked in and safe.

Pastor Jim looked at me. “I don't want to call him right now in case they are out hunting. They should call in the morning. I'm going to make you some tea.”  
He left the room and closed the door behind him. Rosemary put her arm around my shoulders. 

“It'll be all right.” she said comfortingly. 

“I don't like being in here.” I said. 

“I know, but it's the best thing right now, since we don't have people here to watch you.”

Pastor Jim came back in a few minutes with a mug of tea. He handed it to me and said, “It's chamomile. See if it helps you relax.” 

“Any word?” Rosemary looked up at him.

“No, not yet.” Pastor Jim said. 

I sipped the tea, even though I didn't really like the taste of it. 

I still felt worried. “What if- what if something happens to them?” I asked.

“You can't do what if, darlin'.” Rosemary said. “You'll drive yourself crazy. Lay down and try to go back to sleep, now.” 

I drank a couple more swallows of tea and laid down. 

“You'll be okay.” Rosemary stood up, and she and Pastor Jim left, closing and locking the door behind them. It took me a long time to fall asleep again, but then suddenly Rosemary was waking me up.

“Come on up to the kitchen.” she told me. I stumbled up the stairs, bleary- eyed. I had to wake up early, before the boys, so that they wouldn't ask why I wasn't in my bedroom. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Sam didn't know about the supernatural world yet and what his dad did. 

 

Dad and Uncle Bobby had been gone for 3 days now. I was tired from not sleeping well in the Panic Room and having to get up early before the boys. We weren't allowed to go outside, in case the vampires were in the area, and the boys didn't like being cooped up in the house. Pastor Jim had started trying to teach us Latin in the mornings, but the boys weren't really into it, and their fidgeting was distracting to me. We were all getting grumpy with each other. I tried to stay in the library reading, as much as possible. 

I was curled up in my favorite armchair in the library, reading a book about Arthurian legends, when Sam came into the room. He walked over to the shelves and stood in front of them, looking them over. I heard a crunching sound and sat up.

“Sam, what are you doing?” I asked him.

“Lookin' at the books.” he said.

“Are you eating something?”

He turned to me, and he was holding an apple in his hand. “Just a apple.”

I put the book down and walked over to him. “You're not supposed to eat in here!” I scolded.

He looked at me with a surprised look on his face. “I'm not gonna read, I'm just looking!” 

“Take it out of here, Sam.” I told him.

“You're not the boss of me!” he snapped.

I took the apple away from him and carried it out of the library.

“Hey!” Sam called, following me. “Give it back!”

He trotted after me, trying to grab it. I stopped in the kitchen and turned to him.

“Give it, Kate!”

I held it above my head. “You're not supposed to have food in the library, Sam!” I said angrily.

“GIVE IT!” he shouted, jumping up in front of me. At the same time, I pushed him away, and he tripped over his untied shoelace and fell backwards onto his butt.

“What is going on in here?” Pastor Jim appeared in the doorway. “Kate? Why are you pushing Sam?”

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!” I said, my eyes filling with frustrated tears. “Sam took an apple into the library and wouldn't listen to me when I told him that food wasn't allowed in there!”

Sam had stood up by that point and was now staring at the floor and shuffling his feet.

Pastor Jim said, “Sam, you know the rules for the library. Why would you think that bringing an apple in would be okay?”

“I wasn't gonna read.” he said sullenly. “I was just looking around.”

“That doesn't matter. I made the rules, and I expect you to follow them.”

Sam looked at Pastor Jim. “Am I in trouble?”

“I will let it go this time, Sam, but if it happens again, there will be a consequence.”

“Yes sir.” Sam muttered.

Pastor Jim looked at me. “I know you were trying to get Sam to behave, but you can't be pushing him like that.”

“I didn't mean to.” I said tearfully. “He was jumping at me and I was trying to get him to stop. He doesn't listen!”

“You're a tattle-tale!” Sam shouted at me angrily. He stuck his tongue out at me.

“Sam, I am not!” I exclaimed. “I'm not going to not tell what you did! That would be lying!” I was stunned at his anger and the fact that he stuck his tongue out at me really hurt my feelings. Tears came to my eyes.

Sam turned and ran out of the room, and then we heard his footsteps pounding up the stairs.

Pastor Jim sighed. “I think we need to find something different for you three to do, you've been cooped up inside together for too long.”

“But what can we do?” I asked, sniffling. “We can't leave the house.”

“I'll see if I can find some games or something.”

“That would be good. I had brought a bunch of games from my parent's house to their house, and we had fun playing them. We had to leave them when we left.” I told him. 

He put his hand on my shoulder. “Don't take what Sam said personally, he didn't mean it, I'm sure.”

“Okay.” I said. “He's never been that way with me before.”

“I'll go talk to him about it, all right?”

“Thanks.” I smiled at him and went back to the library to keep reading, but I couldn't concentrate. I was upset by Sam's reaction, and feeling upset made me think about my parents. I was still angry about them. How could they adopt me, and then treat me the way that they had when they were raising me? They had been so cold and unparental, and I had just gone along with it because I didn't know any better. If I hadn't met the Winchesters, I would never have known that my life would be anything different. If I hadn't met them, I could possibly be a vampire right now. I shuddered, and then I started to cry. I put my arms around myself and sat there crying quietly for a while. 

 

I woke up in the armchair when I heard the door open. 

“There she is.” I heard a voice say quietly. I sat up, blinking sleepily, as Sam and Pastor Jim walked over to me.

“Sorry I was mean to you before, Kate.” Sam said, with an upset look on his face.

“It's okay, I'm sorry too.” I said. I sat forward and hugged him. 

“It's almost time for dinner, come get washed up and set the table.” Pastor Jim told us. 

 

 

43\. I will not get into fights with my brothers.  
44\. I will not get into fights with my brothers.  
45\. I will not get into fights with my brothers.

I put the pencil down and flexed my hand. The three of us had to write lines after we had gotten into a tussling match over the t.v. remote, and ended up falling off of the sofa and knocking a lamp off of the end table.

The boys had to write “I will not fight with my siblings”, Sam 20 times, and Dean 50 times. I was assigned 100 lines. 

I glanced over at them. The tip of Sam's tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on writing his lines. I sighed and picked up my pencil. I could hear the sounds of a knife against a cutting board in the kitchen- Pastor Jim and Rosemary were making dinner. 

Sam put his pencil down and then got off of his chair. He picked up his paper and walked into the kitchen. “I'm done.” I heard him say. 

“All right. The last several are a little messy, but it's all right.”

“My hand got tired.” Sam whined.

“I know, Sam. Go wash your hands and then come back to help set the table.”

I looked over at Dean, who was frowning on concentration.

Pastor Jim came into the room and leaned over my shoulder. “How's it going?” he asked. 

“It's going.” I mumbled. I felt embarrassed that I had gotten involved in the fight, but all three of us were grumpy and out of sorts. 

“You can finish the rest after dinner. Go get washed up like Sam.”

I put my pencil down and pushed my chair back, grateful for the reprieve. Dean threw his pencil down on the table and ran out of the room, so that he could get into the bathroom before me. 

I waited for him to be finished in the bathroom and then washed my hands. Sam and Dean were already setting the table when I got back to the dining room. We sat down to eat, and then Pastor Jim got a phone call. He left the room for a few minutes, and then came back, holding the phone up.

“Okay, you're on speaker.” he said.

“Hi there.” a voice said. It was Dad.

“Hi Daddy!” Sam said loudly.

I felt tears come to my eyes. 

“Bobby and I will be home late tonight, all right? We've finished helping our friend.”

“Yeah!” Dean said. “Did you find the bear?”

“No, but I heard that it hasn't been seen, so you should be able to go outside tomorrow.” Dad said. 

Sam and Dean high-fived each other and grinned. 

“Are you all behaving yourselves?” Dad asked.

“Uh...yeah...” Dean said uneasily.

“Kinda.” Sam said. 

Dad laughed. “Kinda? We'll talk about it when I get back. Is Kate there?”

“Hi.” I said, and my voice shook.

“How are you doing, sweetheart?” he asked me.

“I'm okay, just tired.” I said.

“Good. Well, we'll see you soon.” 

“Bye Dad!” the boys said together. Pastor Jim hung up the phone. I looked at him.

“Does that mean--” I said quietly.

He nodded at me, and I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Kate, are you crying again?” Sam asked. 

I opened my eyes and looked at him. “I just- miss him.” I said.

 

I got to sleep in my own bed that night. It was so good to be in the cozy bedroom and not the ugly Panic Room with its gray walls, I fell asleep right away and slept deeply. The next thing I knew, Sam was bouncing on the end of my bed.

“Kate! Wake up! Daddy's home!” he said loudly.

I opened my eyes and sat up. It was still dark outside. 

“How do you know, Sam?” I asked.

“Me and Dean are awake and we heard the car!” he grinned at me. “Come on!” 

I got out of bed and followed him as he ran down the stairs. Pastor Jim and Dean were on the front porch and the door was open. We went out onto the porch as Dad and Uncle Bobby walked up the steps. Sam ran up and jumped on his Dad like always, and he caught Sam and swung him up for a big hug. Then Dean ran to him and he leaned down and gave Dean a big hug. He straightened and put Sam down, then looked at me. “Kate,” he said, opening his arms, and I ran to him, feeling the tears well up. His arms wrapped around me tightly and I tried to hold back my sobs.  
“It's all right.” he murmured. “It's all done now, you're safe.”

I pulled back and looked at him. “Everything's okay?”

He nodded. “All taken care of.”

I smiled at him. “I'm so glad you're okay!” 

“I told you we'd be back,” he said.


	21. Chapter 21

I sat on a chair, watching as Dad held a long match to the logs. He and Dean had built a fire pit and Sam and I had gone into the woods to collect sticks and other kindling. The wood caught and the fire flamed up.   
“We'll let that get started for a while, and then I'll get out the food.” Dad said. 

“When can we do the s'mores?” Sam asked with excitement.

“After dinner, Sammy. As usual.” Dad told him.

“You're gonna love them! “Sam said to me with a big grin. “They're so yummy!” 

“I can't wait.” I said, smiling back at him. 

We were camping in the woods for a couple of days, and to be honest, I was nervous. I had never been camping, and I wasn't used to all the little noises that were constantly around us. Dad pointed out whatever was making the noise, and most of it was from animals running through the underbrush or whatever. Tomorrow we were going swimming and fishing in a nearby lake. I had never been swimming anywhere except a pool, and I had never been fishing either. Dean was beside himself with excitement to teach me everything he knew about being outdoors. I was trying to be excited with him, but honestly, I wasn't feeling it as much.

“Hey Dad, can we whittle?” Dean asked. “Kate, do you want to learn?”

“Uh...whittling? I don't know.” I said hesitantly. The only place I used knives was in the kitchen. 

“All right, I'll get the knives out of the truck.” Dad said. He walked across the clearing to the truck and went into the trunk. Sam leaned down and put a twig in the fire. 

“Sam, leave it alone,” Dean said with a warning in his voice. “ 'Member what Dad said.”

“I know, Dean,” Sam said. 

Dad came walking up. “Sam, are you fooling with the fire?” he asked sternly.

“Uh, no sir.” Sam straightened up. “I just put a twig in.”

Dad leaned down and took Sam's chin in his hand and tilted his head up so that they were looking at each other. “You make sure you keep it that way. Understand?”

“Yes sir,” Sam said.

Dad let go of his chin and looked at me. “Sam is not to play with the fire or touch matches or anything. You tell me if you see him do any of that, you hear?”

“Uh, yes sir.” I said, feeling a little uncomfortable. 

“Sam got in big trouble on our last camping trip because he decided to play with a box of matches. And it better not ever happen again.” Dad's voice was stern.

Sam blushed, staring down at his feet and squirming a little. “It won't, Dad.” he said, a little sullenly. He glanced at me and I realized he was embarrassed. 

Dad handed the boys their pocket knives and the wood they had been whittling before. “Would you like to learn how to whittle, Kate?” he asked me.

I shrugged. “Um, I don't know.” 

“Are you scared of knives?” Sam asked, looking at me. 

“No, I use them in the kitchen. I guess I'm not used to the idea of using a knife to whittle wood. I'm not used to any of this!” 

“I understand,” Dad said. “All of this is new to you. Let her get used to being outdoors, Sam.”

He sat down between them and watched them working, giving them advice every so often.

“I can't get it to look how I want it to,” Sam complained. 

“Well, this is your first time whittling. People need to practice it for a long time before they become good at it.” Dad said. 

“But I want to be good at it now.” Sam said. 

Dad chuckled and ruffled his hair. “I know, kiddo. It's hard to be patient. Why don't you put it away for now. Give me the knife.”   
Sam handed him the knife and he got up and walked over to the table where he had put the sheaths. He sheathed the knife and left it on the table, then he came back over and sat down again.   
“Kate, I want to talk to you about a couple more rules,” he said. “I don't want you messing with or even touching any weapons until you've been properly trained. If there's a knife out on the table, you don't touch it. That goes for the matches too. I catch you fooling with anything, that's an automatic spanking. Understand?”

“Yes sir,” I said, feeling a little nervous. He was being so serious!

“Why is that, boys?” 

“ 'Cause we have to be safe.” Sam said.

“And you need to know that we can be re-responsible around weapons.” Dean chimed in.

“ 'Cause weapons are dangerous and you have to respeck that and learn how to treat them.” Sam sounded like he was reading something from a book. 

“I take this very seriously.” Dad said, looking at me. “Being safe, being responsible, not putting yourself or others in danger- it's all very important.” 

“Okay.” I agreed. 

“When we're in the woods, you follow my orders, you don't wander off on your own, and we all work together. Got it?”

The boys said, “Yes sir,” and I hastily added my “Yes sir,” to theirs.

“Why don't you and Sam gather some more kindling.” Dad stood up and stretched. “Don't go too far, though.” 

Sam and I got up and walked into the woods a little way. He picked up a big branch. “This has lotsa pinecones on it, I'm gonna ask if we can put them in the fire!”   
He turned and went back to the camp site. I walked a little further into the woods, looking for fallen branches that were thicker than my fingers. That was what Dad had told me to look for. 

Then I looked around. I realized I hadn't been paying attention to where I was, and I hadn't been paying attention to how to get back to the campsite either! I turned around, looking through the trees to see if I could see the clearing--I couldn't see it! I started to get scared. I took a couple of steps forward, but then I wasn't sure if I was going the right way. 

“Sam?” I called out. “Sam, where are you?” I stood still and listened, to see if I could hear any talking. Nothing. I started to panic. How would I get back to the campsite? Would they be able to find me? I started to walk quickly, trying to figure out where I was, then I turned and started walking in another direction. 

“Kate,” I heard someone call. “Kate!” It was Dad, and he was walking towards me from the left. “What are you doing?”

I started to cry as he came up to me. “I—I was looking for sticks, and Sam left, and then I realized I hadn't been paying attention.” I said. “I-- I got lost!” I looked up at him, and tears leaked out of my eyes. “I-I know I'm not supposed to wander off, I didn't even realize!” I let out a sob. “I was scared!” 

He pulled me into a hug. “It's all right. This is your first time in the woods, and you don't know what you're doing. Let this be a lesson to you to always pay attention to your surroundings, hmm?”

“Okay,” I sniffled.” I'm sorry.”

“Next time don't go so far into the woods, all right? And make sure you're always near the person you're with.” 

I nodded, and he let go of me. “I wouldn't let you stay lost, all right? I'll always be able to find you. And once you learn how to track, you'll have a much easier time in the woods.” 

“Okay.” I followed him back to the campsite. 

“Sorry I left you, Kate!” Sam ran up to me and hugged me. “I didn't know you were gonna keep walking!” 

“It's okay. I didn't know what I was doing.” I said sheepishly. “I guess I should let you guys show me how to do everything first.” 

“The fire needs to keep going for a while longer.” Dad said. He pulled a small box out of the duffle bag that was on the table. 

“Let's play a card game while we're waiting.” 

He showed us how to play the game Uno, and it was easy enough that Sam was able to understand it and play too. We played one game, and then Dad got up to start cooking. He wrapped some corn on the cob in aluminum foil and put them in the coals of the fire.   
The boys and I kept playing cards. 

“All right, we can cook some hot dogs,” Dad said.

Dean showed me how to put a hot dog on a skewer and hold it over the fire. After we ate, the boys got three long sticks and Sam gave me one. 

“For making the s'mores,” he said. They showed me how to hold the marshmallow over the fire and then put it on the graham crackers. It was messy and fun. Dean kept burning his marshmallow on purpose and then eating it after it had turned black, which made Sam laugh hysterically for some reason. 

I didn't think I was going to be able to sleep in the tent, because of all the noises outside, but the sounds of the crickets and cicadas was comforting, and I fell asleep shortly after the boys did. 

I woke up early the next morning hearing noise outside the tent. The boys were still asleep. I went outside, and Dad was packing things up. The air smelled funny.  
“What's going on?” I asked, stretching. 

“We're going to go.” Dad said curtly. “There's something in the woods that's not supposed to be here. I was hearing different noises last night, and that smell isn't right.” 

“What are we going to do?” 

“I'm going to take you to a hotel, and then come back here and see if I can find whatever this is.”

“Aww!” Both boys chorused behind me. I turned. Sam and Dean had both come out of the tent.

“Why do we gotta go?” Sam asked.

“We just got here!” Dean complained.

“You smell that? Something's not right here. I'm not sure what's here, but I'm not putting you three at risk. I'm taking you somewhere safe.” Dad said sternly. 

“Can I help you track it?” Dean asked hopefully.

“No, son. You're not skilled enough yet.” 

“O-kaay.” Dean's shoulders slumped in disappointment. 

“Get dressed and pack your things.” Dad said. “I want to be out of here ASAP. We'll get breakfast on the road.” 

“Aww, I wanted more s'mores!” Sam complained as he turned and went back into the tent. 

“Maybe we can make some at Pastor Jim's,” I heard Dean say. 

In a few minutes they emerged with their duffle, and I went into the tent to get dressed. I packed my pajamas and then rolled up the sleeping bags. I brought them outside and then Dad went into the tent to pack up the rest of it. He quickly dis-assembled the tent and packed it, and then all of us carried things to the car and waited while Dad packed everything in. 

He seemed tense and distracted, and I was worried about him coming back here and trying to find whatever it was. I had no idea what else he hunted, but if the thing that had almost gotten Sam was any indication, it could be anything. 

 

We sat in a booth next to a window in a noisy diner.

“What are we having?” Dad asked, opening his menu. 

“I want waffles,” Sam said.

“Me too,” Dean chimed in.

“Kate?” Dad looked at me. 

Surprisingly, I was hungry. “Um, I'll have waffles too. And some bacon.”

“Yeaaah!” Dean agreed with a big grin. “Let's get a pound of bacon and split it!” 

“I don't think you can order a pound of bacon, Dean.” Dad said, chuckling. He looked at me and smiled. “I'm glad to see you ordering something.” he said. “I think this is the first time you've ordered something without a lot of upset.” 

I felt embarrassed. “I actually feel hungry.” I said.

“That's a good thing.” Dad put his hand on mine and squeezed it. 

Maybe I was finally getting used to being part of a new family, and letting go of some of my grief. I felt better than I had in a while. The sadness that I had been carrying didn't seem to be as heavy. 

 

A couple of hours later we pulled into a hotel that was off of the main highway. As we were driving over to our room, we saw a playground off to one side and a pool.  
“I found this hotel so that that bathing suits we bought wouldn't go to waste.” Dad said with a smile. We unpacked the car and brought our bags into the room, and then he told us to sit down.   
“I want to give you a couple of rules while were here.” Dd said, looking at all of us. “This is off of the main highway, which is a very dangerous road. You are not allowed to go over to the truck stop that's across the highway or cross the highway for any reason, is that clear?”

We all chorused “Yes sir,” and he continued. “I'm going to go back to the woods and see if I can hunt for whatever was around the campsite. So I'll be gone for several hours at a time, and Kate will be in charge like she was before. You boys need to listen to her and obey her, understand?”

Both boys agreed, glancing at me. 

“I want the three of you to stay together. You go to the pool and the playground together. You can leave to use the restroom, but otherwise stick together. There's a little convenience store next to the office, you can go there too. And I want you inside in the evenings, curfew is 6 pm. If I'm going to be very late I'll call to let you know. Any questions?”

“Can we stay up late?” Sam asked. 

“I think you know the answer to that.” Dad said. “You know I want you to have the same bedtime every night.” 

“Kate, neither of the boys knows how to swim, so you will have to make sure you keep an extra close eye on them in the pool. Do you swim?”

“Yes, I had lessons for a couple of years when I was younger. My—uh, parents, wanted me to join the swim team, but I...I didn't like it.” I blushed as I remembered how upset they had been and how much they had lectured me on doing what they told me, and how disappointed they were. The year after that they had started me with music lessons and dance. I realized now that for them it was just about having a child doing extracurricular activities that made them look good.

“All right. What do you say we get our suits on and go try out the pool?” Dad reached out and ruffled Sam's hair.

The pool was popular and there were several other kids there. The boys and I got involved playing Marco Polo for a long time. Then Dad got in and had Sam and Dean practice jumping into the pool with him catching them, so that they could get more comfortable with the water. I had never really played with other kids in a pool, when I had been taking lessons that's all that I was there for, and then the times that my parents took me, they stayed out of the water and sat in chairs reading or talking on their cellphones the entire time. 

After dinner, Dad said he was going to leave for a couple of hours. We got ready for bed, and he gave us all hugs and kisses and left. The boys and I were tired from having spent most of the day in the pool, so they fell asleep quickly. I laid in bed reading, and started to fall asleep as well, so I closed my book and then laid down to go to sleep. The phone ringing startled me awake, and I stumbled over to the desk to pick up the receiver.

“Hello?” I mumbled, just as I remembered Dad's rule. He had said when he called, he would ring once, hang up, and call back. The phone had rung three times and I had answered it, because I was half asleep and not thinking straight. What I heard next made me wake up all the way. 

“Hello?” said a woman's voice. There was static on the line. “Hello, Katie, is that you? Katie, I miss you!” 

I slammed the receiver down and stood there staring at the phone, fear in the pit of my stomach and a lump in my throat. The voice on the other end of the line had been my mother's.


	22. Chapter 22

I laid in bed, in the semi-darkness, my head spinning. How could that be my mother calling? She had died. Dad- Mr. Winchester- had told me that my father had let the vampire drain her of all her blood. But what if he was mistaken? What if she hadn't been dead? What if she had been able to survive the fire? Then I had another thought. What if Mr.Winchester had told me she died but she really hadn't? What if she had managed to somehow escape before he set the fire, and she'd been looking for me all this time? What if he had known she was alive, and yet he took me anyway?   
I turned onto my side and clutched the pillow to me, tears silently dripping down my face. I bit the insides of my cheeks and pressed my mouth to the pillow bunched up under me to stifle my sobs so that I wouldn't wake the boys. Eventually I fell asleep. I woke up briefly realizing someone was leaning over me, and then I felt lips pressing onto my forehead. I opened my eyes, and Dad was standing by my bed. I peered up at him sleepily, and he pulled my covers up and whispered, “I'm back now, shh, go back to sleep.” 

 

I woke up hearing music and silly-sounding voices. I opened my eyes and rolled over- Sam and Dean were on the other bed on their stomachs, watching tv. The hotel room we were in had a sleeping area that was separated by a half-wall divider, with two double beds, where we were sleeping, and then the main room had a sitting area with a pull-out sofa bed, a desk, and a mini kitchen with table and chairs. 

“We get to watch t.v. in bed!” Dean looked up at me with a grin. “This is so cool!” 

I smiled at him, not wanting to tell him that I had grown up with a t.v. in my room, in fact most of the rooms of my parent's house had had a tv in it. I didn't watch much, I preferred to read. 

Sam laughed loudly. “You should watch with us, Kate, this is really funny!” 

I got up out of bed. “Did Dad come back last night?” I asked them.

“I think so.” Dean said. 

I walked around the wall and went over to the sofa. Dad was laying there asleep, but he stirred when I came in. 

When I saw the phone on the desk, I flushed, remembering the call I had gotten last night.

“Kate,” Dad said tiredly. “Get some money out of my wallet, you can take the boys to get doughnuts from the convenience store. Then go play on the playground for a while, I need some quiet so I can rest, all right?”

I opened my mouth to tell him about the phone call, but then I remembered that he had told us not to answer the phone unless he called once, hung up, and then called back. Would he be angry with me? I swallowed nervously, and walked over to the dresser where his wallet was sitting. I opened it and saw a photograph of him with a blond woman. They were both smiling at the camera. I guessed that was a photo of him and his wife. She was pretty, and had the same eyes as Dean. I took a $10 dollar bill out, and then went over to the beds. 

“Boys, Dad wants us to go to the playground for a while.” I told them. “He needs to sleep.”

“Aww, I want to stay here and watch the show!” Sam complained.

“He said we could go get doughnuts for breakfast.” I said. 

Both boys sat up, their eyes excited. “All right!” Dean said, and they high-fived each other. The got off of the bed and went to get clothes out of their duffles.   
I got some clothes out and went to get dressed in the bathroom. 

Dean had turned off the t.v. and was by the door putting his shoes on when I came out. 

“I can't find my shoes,” Sam whined.

“You're s'posed to leave 'em by the door!” Dean hissed, looking over at Dad on the sofa. 

“I know, I forgot!” Sam said. 

I found them under the bed, and brought them over to him. 

We left the room quietly, and Sam took my hand as we crossed the parking lot. It was going to be a hot day- the air felt hot against our skin as we walked. We went into the store, which was air-conditioned, and the boys started to look around. There was a boy standing by the slushie machine. He was tan, with very blond hair and eyelashes and was wearing a raggedy t-shirt and cut-offs.

“Hey, you guys were in the pool yesterday,” he said. “My name's Zack. My parents run the hotel and this place.” 

“Oh,” I said. “hi.”

“You gonna be at the pool again today? Supposed to be a scorcher!” 

“Probably.” I said. 

A woman came out of a back room. “Zack, what are you doin'? Come finish filling up the mop bucket!” 

“Okaay,” he rolled his eyes and turned towards the back of the store. “See ya,” 

“Kate, can we get some candy?” Sam asked. He pointed down one of the aisles. “Look, that whole row is nothing but candy!” 

“No, Dad said doughnuts.” I told him.

“But if we eat it now, he won't know!” Sam gave me puppy dog eyes. 

“Candy for breakfast? No thank you!” I ruffled his hair and walked over to the display case with donuts and pastries in it. “Look, they have muffins too. What do you want?” I motioned for him to follow me. 

After hemming and hawing the boys decided on which doughnuts they wanted, and I paid for them. We went over to the playground and sat on the swings eating. I stayed on the swing while the boys ran around for a while. 

When we went into the room, Dad was sitting in the table drinking coffee. The room had a mini coffee maker in the kitchen area as well as a microwave. 

“Can we go swimming today?” Sam asked him.

“Yes, I'm going to be leaving in a while to do some research. Make sure you put sunscreen on, all three of you.” Dad reminded us. “I'll stop by a store and get some food for you to cook in the room, and then I'll be back this afternoon.” 

The boys went over to their bed to get changed, and I went over to the table and sat down next to Dad.

“Did you figure out what was at the campsite?” I asked him quietly.

“Not yet.” he told me, sipping his coffee. 

“Please be careful.” I said.

“I will be, Kate, you don't have to worry.” he set the cup down and smiled at me. 

I looked at him, and took a deep breath as I decided to tell him about the phone call.

The boys came running around the room divider, Dean flicking Sam with his towel, and Sam barrelled into Dad, giggling loudly. “I need sunscreen!” he said.   
Dad hugged Sam, and then stood up. “Come over here and I'll put it on you. Kate, are you going to put your suit on?”

“Okay,” I got up and went to change in the bathroom.

We took our towels and walked over to the pool. There were a few kids in the water already, and an older-looking teen was sitting in a lifeguard chair.  
“I'll be here during the day,” he told us. “No running by the edge of the pool, no diving in the shallow end, and if I tell you to get out, you do it.” 

“Uh...okay” Dean said to him. 

The boy from the convenience store walked up to us. “That's just my older brother, he thinks he runs the place,” he told us, rolling his eyes. 

“I run the pool, yeah,” the guy retorted. “You want this place shut down? 'Cause it needs a lifeguard to be open during the day.”

“I know, I know, geez,” Zack said, rolling his eyes again. 

“Well quit being such a smartass, little bro.” 

“Shut up, Jeff!” Zack said. He looked at me. “What's your name?”

“Her name is Kate,” Sam piped up. “She's our big sister,” he grinned up at me. “I'm Sam and that's Dean,” he elbowed Dean in the side. 

“Hey, guys,” Zack said. “Want to play Marco Polo again?

“Yeah!” Sam said. 

“I''ll take your towels,” I said to him, and the boys gave me their towels. I walked them over to a chair and put them down, then walked over to the shallow end and started to walk in. the water was cold and bracing. The boys had already jumped in at the side of the shallow end, and Dean came over to me and splashed me.   
“Don't do that, it's cold!” I said. 

“It's better if you just jump in!” Sam said, jumping on me and grabbing me. He knocked me over and I fell sideways, yelping as the cold water hit my skin. 

“You get used to it,” Zack said with a grin. “Whos' gonna be it?” A couple other kids came over to us and there was a chorus of “Not It!” from everyone. Dean ended up being 'It', and he closed his eyes and began to walk around. I kept an eye on him, because I didn't want him to walk too far into the deeper water. 

In a few minutes I turned around and saw that Dad was talking to Jeff over the fence. I got out of the pool and walked over to them.

Dad looked at me. “Jeff said he could give the boys some basic lessons in swimming.” he told me.

“That's good.” I said.

“I'll be back later this afternoon. I brought the snacks in from the car, they're on the counter. I'll bring lunch too, all right?” he reached out and touched my cheek, smiling at me. 

“Bye, Daddy!” Sam called out from the water, and I saw Dean open his eyes. “Bye, Dad!” he called out, waving.

“Hey, you can't open your eyes, that's cheating!” a girl said to Dean.

“I had to say good bye to my Dad!” he told her, and closed his eyes again. 

I went back into the pool and we continued to play for a while. Then the younger kids got bored with the game and wandered off to spalsh around. Sam asked me if I would help him practice jumping into the water from the edge of the pool. I stood in the 4 feet and held my arms up, and he jumped in, grabbing my hands and trying to keep his head above the water. 

We practiced for a while, and then I told him, “I need to go use the restroom.”

I got out of the water, and got the room key and my towel, and walked over to our room. The phone was ringing as I opened the door, and I hurried over to answer it, wanting to find out how Dad was doing. “Hello?”

After a moment, a woman said, “Katie?” The voice was familiar- was it her?

There was static on the line again.

“Wha- who is this?” I asked breathlessly.

“Katie, don't you recognize me? It's your mother.”

“Mom?” I was stunned. “How is this possible? Is it really you?” Sadness welled up in me and tears came to my eyes.

“Yes, darling, it's me. And I want you to come to me, I miss you so much!”

“But...how can I do that, Mom?” I asked hesitantly. “You're...dead.”

“I'm going to tell you how, darling, I'll give you exact instructions!”

I swallowed nervously. “But Mom, am I going to have to die? I...I belong here. I have...” I was afraid to tell her. “I have another family now.”

“Oh, you don't belong with them, Katie. All they do is use you. You're just a servant to them.”

“No I'm not!” The unshed tears stung my eyes. How could she say that, when I had actually felt like a servant to her and my father?

“Yes you are, and you know it. You're expected to do what you're told, and follow orders all the time. If you come with me, you'll be able to do whatever you want, and we'll be so happy together.”

“Are you...are you in heaven?”

“Oh, yes, it's wonderful! Come on, darling...say yes.”

“But-- I can't leave the boys, I'm supposed to watch them.” 

“If you leave in the middle of the night, they'll be fine. They'll be asleep and nothing will happen.” 

“All right.” I sighed. “Is it really you, Mom?”

“Yes, darling, and I want to be with you so badly!”

“Umm...okay.” I said. “How?”

“Across the highway, there are train tracks. About a quarter of a mile down, there's an old building. Meet me there at midnight tonight.”

“All right.” I said. 

“Good, darling, I can hardly wait to see you again!” 

I hung up and went to the bathroom, and started crying. I realized I couldn't stay in here for a long time, and I made myself stop after a minute or so. After I used the toilet, I splashed cold water on my face and blew my nose.

When I went back to the pool, Sam said, “You took a long time!”

“Didja fall in?” Zack asked with a grin.

“Hey, Kate, help me jump again!” Sam said. “I want to show Daddy when he comes home!” 

“All right, Sam.” I said. My heart felt hard. I had been the boy's babysitter first, and then I had felt like their family. But maybe Mr. Winchester had just taken me in so I could keep watching them. He'd have a free babysitter so he could go do his hunting all the time. Maybe that was all I was, a servant to him, just like I had been at my parent's house. 

I got in the water and walked over to the side of the pool. Sam was standing there, and he looked at me. “What's wrong?” he asked.

I looked up at him. “Nothing, why?”

“Your eyes look funny.” he said.

I shook my head. “I'm fine.” I held my hands up. “Come on, jump in.” 

 

I felt distracted, and kept going over the phone call in my head. How could it be her? I was tempted to not go, but then what if she came to the room? What would happen then? Maybe I should go to where she had said to meet, and tell her to leave me alone. After all, we had filled out paperwork for me to legally be adopted by Mr. Winchester- Dad. He felt like my Dad, more than my father ever had. Mr. Winchester talked to me and listened to what I said, he didn't just tell me what to do and expect me to do it. He did spank me, but it was to correct my behavior, and he hugged me and tucked me into bed, and held me when I had nightmares. My parents had rarely ever hugged me, and I couldn't actually remember the last time they had tucked me into bed. The older I got and the more saw how they acted with my father's career, the more had felt like a prop to them, and a servant who kept their home running. It had taken meeting the Winchesters to realize that life didn't have to be like that, and that there was more out there than just cooking and cleaning for my family. With the Winchesters I felt loved for the first time in my life, something I hadn't ever really felt with my parents. 

But then, she was my mother. I had loved her so much when I was little, and wanted to be with her all the time and please her, so I tried really hard to do all the things she wanted me to do, the dance lessons and music lessons and learning how to cook and bake with her. As I got older and saw how focused she was on my father and his politics, the anger and hurt I felt over-rode the love. But still...maybe since she had died, she had changed. She said she missed me and wanted me to be with her. Maybe we could try again and be happy. 

“I'm hungry,” Sam announced.

“Okay, Dad said he left snacks in the room. Want to go have some?” 

“Let's go get some candy!” Sam's eyes lit up.

“I gave Dad the change I got, there isn't any money in the room.”

“Awww” Sam pouted.

“Are you actually hungry, or do you just want candy?” I asked him.

“I'm hungry.”

“Then let's go. Come on, Dean.” I called to him. 

“I wanna stay here.” he said.

“You can't, Dad said to stay together, remember?”

“But there's a lifeguard here!” Dean pointed over at Jeff, sitting in the chair. 

I didn't know what to do. Dad had told us to stay together, but I figured that with the pool it was just because the boys couldn't swim. There was a lifeguard here, Dean would be safe with him. 

“Okay.” I said. “We'll be back in a little bit.” 

Sam and I got out of the water and went to the room. I wrapped the towel around my body like a dress so that it would absorb the water from my suit. 

I got out the Pop Tarts and Sam and I sat at the table and ate some. The door opened and Dad came into the room. He had a pizza box in one hand and a couple of plastic bags in the other. 

“Daddy! I've been practicing jumping in the water with Kate!” Sam got up and ran over to him for a hug. “I wanna show you!”

“That's great, Sammy. Where's Dean?” Dad looked around the room. 

“He stayed at the pool.” Sam told him. 

“What?” Dad's voice was annoyed. He came over to the table and looked at me. “Kate, why is he at the pool? I told the three of you to stay together!” He set the pizza box down. “This is for lunch.”

“Um, the lifeguard is there,” I said. “He'll be fine.”

“That is not the point, young lady. I made the rule that the three of you are to stay together at all times. And it's your responsibility to make sure the rules are followed. You're the one in charge, so this broken rule falls on you.”

“I- I'm sorry, sir,” I said.

“Well, I'll deal with you later. I have to go back out.” 

He walked over to the counter and started unloading a plastic bag.

“Uh--” I wanted to ask what he meant. Sam looked at me, and his face looked nervous.

“What, Kate?” Dad stopped what he was doing and turned to me. “What happens if you break a rule?” 

“Um...” I couldn't remember. 

“A spanking.” Sam said, “But Dad, she didn't--”

“Sam, she's supposed to be responsible for you and your brother, so like I said, the consequence falls on her.” 

“I'm sorry!” I said again. 

“I know. But a broken rule is a broken rule. And you have to face the consequences of that.” He finished taking everything out of the bag.  
“I got some microwave mac and cheese and some soups and a couple of little frozen pizzas. I know it's not the best food, but it'll do for now. I'm going to be out until late again tonight.” 

“When--” 

“We'll deal with it tomorrow,” he said. “In the meantime, you'd better step it up and make sure that no others rules get broken, you hear me? Both of you? I need to know that my kids are staying safe when I'm not here.” 

“Yes sir,” Sam and I chorused. He walked over to us and kissed us both on the tops of our heads. “I'm going to go now. I'll call at 6 o'clock to check on things.” 

He left, and a couple of minutes later, Dean came into the room, looking sulky.

“Dad yelled at me!” he said. “He said I wasn't s'posed to be at the pool by myself!” 

“Well you aren't!” Sam yelled at him. “Because you wanted to stay, Kate got in trouble and now she's gonna get a spanking!” 

“Oh,” Dean said. “But it's not your fault.” 

“Well, I'm the one in charge, so it's my job to make sure the rules are followed. And a rule got broken.” I sighed. “And now I have to wait until tomorrow.”

“That sucks,” Dean said. “I hate waiting for a spanking.”

“Me too,” Sam agreed. “We'll just have to try and make you forget!” he came over to me and started tickling me. 

“Oh no you don't!” I grabbed his hands. “We should eat the pizza before it gets cold, come on.”

We sat down and ate lunch, and then I put more sunscreen on them before we went back to the pool. There was a teenage girl in the lifeguard chair in the afternoon. Zack and his brother were nowhere to be found. We stayed in the pool for a couple more hours, and then I noticed that their faces were getting red. 

“Let's go back to the room,” I said. “I don't want you guys getting too sun burned.”

“I want to keep playing!” Sam complained. 

“No, Sam, your face is already red.”

“I don't care!” he snapped. 

“Well I do!” I snapped back at him. “And I'm the one in charge, so you have to do what I tell you! And I don't want to get into any more trouble! Let's go!” 

“Come on, Sammy.” Dean said, splashing Sam. 

“Don't splash me!” Sam splashed him back. 

“Let's go!” I repeated. “I'll tell Dad that you weren't listening to me.” 

Sam glared at me. “Tattletale!” 

I went over to him and took his arm. “Come on.” I pulled on him.

“Okayokay, I'm going, I'm going!” he snapped, and he pulled away from me. He stomped out of the pool and huffed at me as we walked over to the room. 

“Get changed and put your bathing suits in the bathroom so they can dry.” I told them.

“Okayokay, Miss Bossy!” Sam sneered.

“Be quiet, Sam.” I snapped. “Should I put you in time out?”

“You can't do that!” he exclaimed.

“I'm in charge, so I guess I can!” I retorted. 

“Nuh-uh!” He stomped his foot.

“Fine, I'll just have to tell Dad how much crap you've been giving me.” I snapped.

“You're just a bossy tattletale!” Sam yelled, and he ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. I felt tears come to my eyes. Was this what it was really like to have little brothers? If so, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep doing this. 

“Ignore him, he's just bein' a jerkwad,” Dean said reassuringly. “I'll talk to him and tell him to cut it out.” 

“I don't understand why he has to push like that.” I said. 

“ 'Cause Sammy's stubborn.” Dean told me. “He always has been. Dad said he started saying no much earlier than I did.” He went over to the t.v. and turned it on. “Let's see if we can find a movie to watch.” 

Sam came out of the bathroom after a few minutes, and we ignored each other for a while. I changed out of my suit and hung our suits up over the shower curtain rod so that they would dry. 

I went over to the sofa and sat down, and Sam leaned on me. “Sorry I was a jerkwad before,” he said quietly. 

I put my arm around him. “Sorry I was bossy,” I said. 

“You're s'posed to be, you're the big sister,” he said, hugging me.

Tears came to my eyes again. I did love Sam and Dean, and I know that they loved me. I had never had any siblings before. Did I really want to leave this? I blinked the tears away quickly and focused on the movie we were watching. 

We lounged on the sofa for the rest of the afternoon watching movie after movie, and for dinner I made mac and cheese for us. We ate it sitting on the sofa, and Dean brought over some of the snacks too. 

At promptly 6 o'clock, the phone rang once. After a moment, it rang again. I walked over and picked it up.

“Kate,” Dad said. “How are things going?” 

“Fine,” I replied. “We came in during the afternoon because the boy's faces were getting a little red.”

“Did you put more sunscreen on them?”

“Yes, I did,” I told him. “I didn't want them to get any more red, so we came inside. We've been watching movies all afternoon.”

He chuckled. “Just make sure the boys don't watch anything scary. Dean loves to try and watch movies like that and then he always ends up getting too scared. You remember when he called you to come stay with them earlier in the summer?”

“Oh, that's right!” I thought back- it seemed like that was a lifetime ago, we had lived in a whole different neighborhood, and we hadn't become a family yet. 

“I'll probably be back early in the morning, I'm tracking whatever this is tonight. Tomorrow, you can take some money out of my wallet and take the boys to get doughnuts again, all right?”

“Sounds good.” I said.

“You're a good girl, Kate,” he said warmly, and I felt tears in my eyes for a moment. I wished he was there to hug.

“Be careful,” I said.

“I am. Let me talk to Dean.” he said.

I held the phone out. “Dean, Dad wants to talk to you.” 

The boys chatted with him for a couple of minutes each, and then they hung up. We kept watching movies, until I noticed it was after 9 o'clock and Sam had fallen asleep next to me.

I carried him to bed and tucked him in, and then told Dean to get into his pajamas. I was tired too, so I got changed and got into my bed. I didn't even try to read, I just rolled over and went to sleep. 

 

The phone ringing woke me up, and I ran over to the desk to grab it before it woke the boys up.

“Katie!” said my mother's voice breathlessly. “Are you coming tonight? Please say yes.”

“Uh...I don't know...” I said uncertainly. “I-- I'm responsible for the boys, I can't just leave them.” 

“Lock the door behind you. I need you, Katie. I miss you so much, darling. We can be happy together!” she pleaded, and it sounded like she was crying. 

“But Mom...” I said. “I have a new family now.”

“Well at least come and say goodbye to me. You owe me that much. Say good bye to me so I can let you go.”

I sighed. “All right. I'll come. I'll see you in a little bit.”

I hung up the phone and got dressed quickly, then found my flip flops. I put the room key in my pocket, and closed the door behind me quietly. 

It was a humid night, and my hair was sticking to my neck by the time I had walked to the highway. I swallowed nervously as I waited for several big trucks to pass. I realized that in doing this, I was going to be breaking more rules- leaving the boys, going outside after curfew, and crossing the highway. If Dad found out, I'd be in a lot of trouble. I wondered what he did if more than one rule got broken. He had said he made the boys run laps sometimes, maybe he would make me do that? Or what if he gave me a separate spanking for each rule broken? I didn't even want to think about that! If I hurried, I could say goodbye to my mother quickly, and then be back in the room in record time, and no one would know what I did. Dad had said he would be back closer to the morning, so there really was no way he would find out. 

I ran across the highway, and found the train tracks. I followed them, sweat dripping down my neck and back as I walked. I could hear crickets and cicadas chirping in the woods on the side of the tracks. I found the little building, and went inside. It was dusty and smelled like mildew.

“Hello?” I called. “Mom? Are you here?”

I heard movement behind me, and then something grabbed my arms. I flinched and tried to turn around, but whoever it was was strong, and I couldn't move. I felt fingers on my neck, digging in, and then pain as they found a nerve and pinched, and then my vision started going black. I could feel myself falling to the floor.


	23. Chapter 23

I woke up slowly, registering that I was sitting up, but I couldn't move. I opened my eyes and looked down. I was in a chair, and there were thick ropes around my torso, and as I tried to move I became aware that my hands were tied behind my back and my feet were tied to the legs of the chair. I looked around-- the room was dim, but it looked like a large storage closet. There were shelves filled with boxes of papers and what looked like parts of a car engine. There were pieces of trash all over the floor, ripped up blankets and newspapers, and a couple of suitcases. There was a banged up ten speed bike in the corner, and a crushed metal shopping cart near the door. As I looked around, I noticed that a what I thought were blankets were actually clothes. And that there were what looked like bones poking through some of them. 

I heard footsteps coming and the door opened. A balding man came in and closed the door behind him. He looked ordinary, wearing a button down shirt and khaki trousers. 

“You're awake,” he said. “Good.”

“Who are you?” I asked. “Where's my mother?”

He laughed. “Oh, you poor misguided child,” he shook his head. 

“What do you mean?” I looked at him. “Please-- let me go, I won't tell anyone about you, just let me go.”

“No, I can't do that,” he said. He walked towards me, and I noticed that there were flies around him. There was a slight smell like something was rotting.

“Wh- why not?” I asked. 

He leaned down into my face. “Because your grief is going to be... delicious!”

“What?” I looked up at him. “What does that mean?”

He straightened and turned on his heel, walking away from me. “Well, you see, I need strong emotions. And you, being a young girl, are chock full of strong emotions.”

“What does that have to do with my mother?” I asked. “Please, is she here? Did you take me for her?”

He laughed again. “Don't you get it? I'm trying to explain it here.” 

He opened his mouth and said, “Katie, you've got to come with me, darling,” in my mother's voice. Seeing this man speaking with the voice of my dead mother gave me chills and made me feel sick to my stomach. 

“How-- how are you doing that? Why?” I asked. “It's so cruel!” 

He walked over to me again. “Because of what I am,” he explained. “I—feed--on people's emotions. The stronger, the better. And I discovered that living here, on a busy stretch of highway, near a truck stop and a motel, is the perfect place to get my meals. There are so many, many lost souls that come through the truck stop, so many sad souls who are running from a breakup or a crisis in their life. All I have to do is be still and listen, and I can hear them...and feel them. And when you came through with your family, my goodness, all the doubt in your mind, and that grief that you keep buried...I knew that you were going to be able to feed me for a long time.” 

“I don't have doubt! And I don't have any buried grief!” I glared up at him.

“Oh ho ho, methinks the lady doth protest too much! Your doubt is why you came here, isn't it? You just had to see Mommy one last time, to see if it was really her, to see if she'd really love you the way you wanted,” he smiled at me, but it was mean. 

Tears came to my eyes. “Shut up!” I shouted. “You—you don't know that!” 

“Come now, it was so easy to get into your little head and start twisting your thoughts around once I had honed in on you. All those delicious little hormones running through your system wreaking havoc on your emotions...it's going to be so good!” 

He leaned down and opened his mouth so wide that his jaw unhinged. A row of huge, long fangs came out of his gums, and I felt his hot, reeking breath on my neck. I leaned back, away from him, and screamed. I felt the tips of his teeth piercing my skin, and then he yelled, and pulled away. “Ahh, God, what is on your skin? It's burning! Ahh!” he leaned forward and grabbed my hair and sniffed it. “Chemicals-- what is that- bleach? No, chlorine? Ohh, God!” He turned away and began to retch, and then he threw up black liquid. 

I remembered that I hadn't taken a shower after we had come in from the pool, and there was probably still chlorine on my skin and in my hair. Why was he reacting like this?

“You little bitch!” he turned towards me and hit me in the face. His chin and the front of his shirt were covered in the black goo that had come out of his mouth. 

“I'm gonna-- I'm gonna wash you off, find a hose or something—oohhhh,” he groaned, and turned away from me, his stomach heaving again. He threw up more black stuff, and then he stumbled out of the room. 

 

I don't know how long I was there in the room. There was only a small window at the top of the wall in the corner, and it was clouded over with a thick layer of dust. The light changed gradually, and it got darker. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but I know that I did, because I startled awake when I heard a loud bang. Then there were more loud bangs and crashes, like someone was throwing large objects around a room.

The door opened and a man came in holding a gun up. He looked around the room and then lowered it and came over to me. He was tall, lanky, and bald, and he had some bruises on his face and arms. There was a smear of blood and black stuff on his shirt. 

“You okay, kid?” he asked gruffly. “Did it feed on ya at all?” He pulled out a knife. “I'm gonna to cut the ropes off of ya, all right?” He walked around behind me, and I could feel the ropes being pulled on.

“He started to bite me, but I have chlorine on my skin from going swimming, and it made him sick.”

“Yeah, that must've weakened it. Made it easier to kill. Do you live 'round here?”

“Uh, no,” I said. “My family is staying at a hotel.” 

“All right,” he said. “After I get ya untied, I'll call 'em and we can see about gettin' you home. What are your parent's names?” 

“Um, it's just my dad.” I told him. “My dad is John Winchester.” 

He stopped what he was doing and walked around to look at me closely. “All right, what's going on?” he demanded. “Are you it's mate? Tryin' to lure me back here to feed on?” He held the knife up close to my face.

“No! No, I'm not! I'm a girl...please! Why...why do you think that?” I felt panicked.

“Because I know John, and I know he don't have a girl! He's got two little boys, and that's all!” The man said harshly, narrowing his eyes at me.

Tears came to my eyes. “Yeah, Sam and Dean, right? I'm, I met them earlier in the year and I was babysitting them, and then my parents...well, they died in a fire, and Mr. Winchester took me in.” The words tumbled out of me quickly, I wanted to prove to him that I was who I said I was.

He chuckled in a scoffing way. “John don't take in strays. I'll give you one last chance to come clean, little missy.” He pointed the knife at me. 

“Please!” I begged. “You have to believe me! We've been staying with Pastor Jim...and I also met Bobby Singer. There was a monster, a, uh, a shtriga I think? It went after Sam and he ended up in the hospital, and I was staying with them and it came after Dean too, and then Dad came into the room and killed it...”

“I heard about that.” he said. “So you call him Dad? He really took ya in?”

“Yes, my parents, uh...they died, my father was going to... give me to a vampire, and Dad...Mr. Winchester, saved me. He and Uncle Bobby went and got rid of the nest.”

“I was with them on that case,” he said. “By God, it's true. Wonder why he didn't mention you?”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

He walked behind me again. “Lemme finish this. Sorry I didn't believe ya, kid, it's just that we gotta be careful. Some of these creatures are mighty tricky, and they'll take any form to try and kill you.” 

“It's all right,” I said. “I understand.” 

He rubbed my wrists, and looked at my neck. “It's not too bad, it barely broke the skin at all. Still, we wanna get that cleaned up ASAP. My name's Caleb, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Kate.” I said. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Lemme call John. Where y'all stayin' ?”

“Umm, the Motel 6 near the truck stop, off of highway 267? And there's train tracks nearby?”

He put his phone up to his ear and nodded. “Winchester, hey,” he said. “How's it goin'? Well, I'm about to make your day a whole lot better. I found somethin' that belongs to ya.” He handed me the phone.

“Dad?” I said, and burst into tears. 

“Kate? Kate, oh my God, are you okay?” There was relief in his voice. I heard Sam in the background. “Kate's there? Where is she? What happened?” and then I heard him start to cry. 

“I-- I was—I went to--” I was crying too hard to talk, so I handed the phone back to Caleb. He took it from me and started pacing as he talked. I put my head in my hands as the enormity of what had happened hit me. I had left Sam and Dean alone in a hotel room in the middle of the night, to go and talk to what I thought was my mother, and I hadn't told anyone what I was doing or where I was going. I should have talked to Dad about it, I should have told him everything! Why hadn't I? And then I ended up kidnapped by another monster who was going to feed on my emotions, probably until he killed me. I started to shake with nerves. 

“All right, I'll bring her to ya. See y'all soon.” He hung up and put his phone in his pocket.

“Hey, whoa,” he said after he looked at me. “You ain't lookin' too good. Take some deep breaths, you're gonna faint on me if ya keep breathin' shallow like that. You're all right now, you're safe, and I'm takin' ya back to your people. Come on, breathe for me, kid.” 

I took some slow deep breaths, and tried to stop crying. In a couple of minutes I felt a little bit better. I stood up and looked at him. “I'm ready.” I said.

“All right. Now listen, the body is in the other room, and I didn't have nothin' to cover it with, so close your eyes and grab my arm, and I'll lead you out the buildin'.”

I did as he told me, and then he said, “All right, we're outside.” There was a pickup truck outside, and he unlocked the door for me. He went into the trunk, and when he got into the truck, he had a small duffle in his hand. He put it on the seat between us and opened it.

“My first aid kit,” he told me. “Let's get ya neck cleaned up.” He looked at my neck again, and then wiped the bitten area down with a wet cloth that had cold sting-y stuff on it. Then he applied a thin layer of some kind of salve. “The skin ain't broken, so that's good. Still wanna keep and eye on it for a coupla days, all right?”

I nodded. “Okay, thank you.” 

“Normally, I have a debriefin' session with any survivor after I rescue them but I'm gonna wait 'til we get to the hotel, 'cause I know John is gonna want to hear everythin' too.”

“I'm going to be in so much trouble.” I said. “I left the boys in the room alone, and I went out in the middle of the night across the highway.” I started to cry again.

“Yeah, I 'spect you will be,” he said, glancing at me. “John don't take kindly to his orders bein' disobeyed.” 

“I thought I was going to see my mother!” I said. “She—she called me on the phone.”

“That's what that creature does, it tricks you with its voice.”

“What was it?” I asked him.

“Called a crocotta. They feed off of emotions.”

“He told me that. He said that I was going to feed him well because of all the emotions in me. My parents-- it hasn't been that long since they--since they passed.”  
He nodded. “I understand. You've probably got all kinds of emotions rolling around in your mind.”

He glanced over his shoulder and then changed lanes. “I've been huntin' this thing for a while, and I finally figured out it's been livin' in this area for some time now.” 

“That's what he said. He said that the truck stop was great for him because so many people came through.” 

The drive didn't take that long, as we weren't that far away. As we pulled into the parking lot, I started to get nervous. Caleb parked the truck next to Dad's car, and as we got out, the hotel door opened, and Dad came out of the room. I ran to him and threw myself at him, bursting into tears again. He picked me up, holding me tightly to him in a bear hug. 

“Dad I'm sorry!” I sobbed. “I'm so sorry!” 

“Shh...” he said, stroking my hair. “I'm so glad you're safe.” He set me down on the ground, and looked at me. “You are in a lot of trouble, young lady,” he said sternly. “But we'll talk about that later.” He cupped my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. “I'm just so glad to see you right now.” 

He let me go and turned to Caleb. They shook hands and then hugged each other. 

“Kate!” Sam and Dean came running out, and they both threw themselves at me. I leaned down and hugged them. 

“All right, let's go inside,” Dad said. We went into the room.

“Kate, why did you run away?” Sam looked at me, and his face was pale with worry. “Was it- was it 'cause I was so mean to you?” He burst into tears.

“No!” I said. “No, Sammy, I promise!” I hugged him to me. “It wasn't that.”

“Then why did you leave?” He looked up at me with a frown.

I looked at Dad, who shook his head slightly.

“Um, I'll explain everything...later.” I ruffled his hair and let go of him. 

“Kate, you must be starving,” Dad said. “Do you want to go eat?”

“Yeah, I am hungry, I hadn't even thought about it.” I said. 

“Let's go eat, and then you and Caleb can tell me everything.” Dad turned to the boys. “Get your shoes on so we can go eat.” 

Sam wandered around the room, and then came over to Dad. “Uh, I can't...I can't find my shoes.” he said, with a guilty look on his face. 

Dad sighed angrily, and grabbed Sam's arm, turning him and swatting his rear end. “How many times are we going to have to go over this, young man? I am tired of you breaking this rule!” He spanked Sam's butt again, and Sam bit his lip as his face got red. “I'm sorry, Daddy,” he whined. 

“Not as sorry as you're going to be if you lose your shoes again.” Dad growled. “I don't see your shoes by the door the next time we come in this room, and your pants will be coming down, you hear me?”

Tears slipped out of Sam's eyes and down his face. “Yessir,” he sniffled.

Dad sighed angrily again. “Dean, any luck finding Sam's shoes?” he called.

“Under here.” Dean's voice was muffled. He came out from under the sofa bed with Sam's shoes in his hands and brought them over. 

“I need to get some shoes too,” I said. “I was wearing my flip flops, and when the-- I mean, I lost them.” 

“I found one in that small building by the tracks,” Caleb said. “It looked almost brand new, so I figured I was on the right trail.”

I got my tennis shoes and put them on without socks. Sam put his shoes on, and then we left the room. Sam took my hand as we walked to the car. He and Dean both leaned their heads on my arms in the back seat. We went to a fast food restaurant that had a large play area for kids. Dad and Caleb led us to a booth that was tucked away in a corner, near the play room. The men talked about different people that they both knew while we ate.   
“Boys, you two can go and play for a while,” Dad told them.

“I want Kate to come too,” Sam said.

“Kate needs to tell me what happened,” Dad said. “She'll come play with you when she's finished talking.” 

“Okay.” Sam slid out of the booth and then Dean followed him. 

“Last one down the slide is a rotten egg!” Sam called, running ahead of Dean.

Dad took a drink of his coffee. “What was it?” 

“Crocotta.” Caleb said. 

Dad winced. He turned and looked at me. “All right, Kate, I want to hear about it.” 

I took a deep breath. “The other night I got a phone call--”

“What?” Dad's voice was like ice. He had been bringing his cup up to his mouth, and he stopped, and then put it down on the table, hard. He looked at me angrily. “What do you mean, you got a phone call?”

“I, um, the phone rang and I was almost asleep, and I went to answer it, and it...it was my mother.” 

“Kate, what's the rule?”

“Uh--” 

“What. Is. The rule. Kate?” Dad said in a hard voice. 

I blushed. “Not to answer the phone unless it's you, and you'll ring once and then call right back.” 

“Why did you answer it then? Jesus, Kate!” He shook his head.

Tears came to my eyes. “I'm sorry! I- I was half asleep, and I wasn't thinking about it...I'm not used to having a rule like that!” My voice had started to sound like a whine, and I cleared my throat. 

“All right,” he said evenly. “What happened? What did she say?”

“Well, the first time, she said that she missed me--”

“The first time? The first time?” Dad growled, and then he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed heavily, and then opened his eyes and looked at me. “Go on,” he said in a clipped voice. 

I squirmed in the booth, realizing how angry he was, and how much angrier he was probably going to be once I was done telling him everything. I gulped nervously.   
“The, uh, first time, I hung up on her after she said she missed me.”

“When did that happen?”

“Uh, the night we got to the hotel, and you had gone back to the campsite.” 

“Continue.”

“The next day, after you left, I went into the room to use the restroom, and the phone was ringing. I was worried that it was you calling, so I ran over and answered it. She said, uh, she said she wanted me to come to her, and that she missed me.”

“Did you question this at all? I mean, did you think that maybe it wasn't her?”

“Yeah, I did. I asked her too. She said it was her, and she would give me instructions on how to be with her. I was nervous, because I knew she was dead and I didn't want to have to die too...you know?” 

Tears came to my eyes and I looked at Dad and then Caleb.

“You're doin' good, kid,” Caleb said. “Keep goin'.”

“I- I told her I couldn't leave the boys...” I took a deep breath and told them what she had said about being with them, that I was being used and didn't belong with them.

Dad sighed angrily again, and slammed his fist on the table, making me jump. “Goddammit, how do they know how to get into a person's head?”   
He looked at me again.“That was total manipulation of you, Kate. Do you believe everything that she was saying? Do you feel like you're a servant, and like you don't belong with us?”

I blushed again. “I—I—no, not really...I mean, it made me think about it, but I always felt like I was a servant with my parents, and I don't feel the same way with you.”  
I stared down at my hands in my lap.

“Kate, what I don't understand is why you didn't come to me and tell me about this.” 

“I—I-- you were busy with investigating the campsite, and I didn't want to distract you. I was worried that if I did tell you, you wouldn't be able to concentrate and you'd get hurt.” 

“Kate...you don't have to keep worrying about me. It is not your job to take care of me by with- holding things from me like that. That's keeping secrets, and not being honest.” 

More tears came to my eyes and spilled over. I bowed my head. “I'm sorry-” I said. “I can't help but worry about you, I don't...I don't want to lose you.” 

He reached over and put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in for a hug. 

“You're not going to.” he said. He let go of me and took a drink of his coffee. 

I told them how she had told me to leave at night and go across the highway, and Dad looked angry again, but didn't say anything. 

“Is that the only time you got a phone call?” Caleb asked.

I hesitated. “Uh, no, there was one more.” 

“There was another phone call?” Dad said with incredulity. “Another call, and you still didn't think to tell me? Kate, this is unbelieveable.” 

“I'm sorry!” I said again, and I sobbed once and then bit my lip so I wouldn't keep crying. 

“When was that call?” Caleb asked in an even voice.

I told them about the phone call, and how I had decided to go and say good bye. 

“So you left the boys in the room, and you crossed the highway in the middle of the night,” Dad said, looking at me intently. 

I blushed again. “Yes.” I admitted. “But I- I was only going to say good bye, and then come right back to the room. I figured it would be quick, and no one would know.” 

“So you weren't planning on telling me any of this? Even after the fact? You were just going to hide the fact that you broke several rules to go on a wild goose chase to talk to someone who may or may not have been your dead mother, and you never even thought that they might have meant you harm?” His voice got loud at the end of his speech, and he was glaring at me. 

“I-- I'm sor-” 

“Save it!” Dad snapped. “I don't want to hear that you're sorry any more. This is just beyond—beyond what I could have thought--” he leaned toward me, and his eyes were dark and intense. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take my belt off and take you out to the car right now.” he growled.

I gulped audibly. “Take...your belt...off? For what?” I shrank back in my seat. 

“For whipping your butt, little girl. That's what you deserve, for all of this. For God's sake, Kate! You lied to me, you with-held information, you broke rules left and right--” he sighed angrily again. “What am I supposed to do with all of that?” 

Tears started to drip down my cheeks. “Please, Dad.” I sobbed. “I didn't-- I didn't do it on purpose, you know. I was confused, and hurt, and I didn't know what to do!” 

He slammed his hand on the table again. “You come and talk to me, for God's sake! You are part of this family, and you are supposed to talk to me about things!” 

“John, go get yourself a refill.” Caleb said calmly. 

“What?” Dad snapped. “I don't need a refill.”

“Yeah, ya do. Go take a walk for a few minutes, check on the boys. I'll finish up with Kate here. Go, John.”

“Oh.” Dad realized what he was saying. I got out of the booth and looked up at him after he stood up.

“Dad, are you really going to— to whip my butt?” I whispered nervously. 

“I don't know, Kate. I have to think about it. All I know right now is that you are in serious trouble. Sit down and tell Caleb the rest of what happened.” 

“Yes, sir,” I said, and I sat down meekly in the booth. 

He left the area, going up to the counter, and then after he had ordered another coffee, he went into the play area.

Caleb slid some napkins across the table to me, and I picked one up and wiped my eyes. 

“Well, I have to say, I've seen John Winchester pissed off before, but I don't think I've ever seen him quite this angry.” 

“Oh great,” I said, and I sobbed once, and then hiccuped.

“Kate, it's obvious that he loves ya very much. I can only imagine how worried he was, and then to find out what had been going on and how you didn't tell him anythin'-- he's hurt too, underneath the anger. But he'd never admit that.” 

I started to cry again. “I hurt him?”

“Well, your actions kinda say that you don't trust him all that much, if you ain't tellin' him about what all was happenin' .”

“I-- I do trust him.”

“You sure about that?” 

“I--” I was at a loss. I hadn't even thought about that. I wasn't used to talking with my parents, but I didn't think it had anything to do with trust. But maybe it did. Because I knew deep down that my parents served their own interests first, and mine came last, if at all. And I knew that I couldn't trust them to help me or give me what I wanted or needed.

I started to cry again. Caleb let me cry for a couple of minutes, then he reached over and patted my hand. “Get ahold of yourself, and tell me the rest. John's getting restless, and I think it's better if he don't hear any more, so that he don't get even more pissed off.” 

I wiped my face off again, and took a deep breath, and I told him the rest. He asked me questions about what the man looked like, and what happened when he went to feed on me, and what he had said to me. 

Dad came over to us as I was finishing up telling him about when the creature was throwing up.

“How are we doing here?” Dad said. 

“We're about done. Did ya have any questions for me, Kate?” Caleb looked at me.

“Um, no, I guess not.” I said. 

“It's getting late, we should go back to the room,” Dad said. 

Caleb started to clean up the trash that was on the table. I helped him, and stood up to take the tray over.

“I got this,” Caleb said, looking at Dad and then me. He took the tray from me and then walked over to the trash can.

Dad looked down at me and took my chin in his hand so that I would look up at him. “Kate, I'm sorry I got so angry before. I was- I was so worried about you, and to find out everything that had happened...” 

“It's okay.” I said. “I wasn't honest about things, and I lied to you.” I swallowed nervously. “I—I deserve whatever punishment you decide on.” I dropped my eyes, and he let go of my chin.

“I still have to think on that,” he said. “I want to talk to Caleb first and find out about what else happened.” 

He pulled me into a hug. “I'm still upset with you, but I want you to know that I love you and I'm so glad you're back and safe.”

I hugged him back, starting to cry. “I—I don't know why I didn't tell you, I was going to, and I just—I just--”

“Shh, let it go for now,” he said soothingly. “If Sam asks, tell him that someone tricked you and made you think it was your mother, and you were able to get away. All right?”

“All right,” I agreed, sniffling. He let me go and I wiped my face off again. 

We walked into the play area to get the boys, and then went back to the hotel room. Caleb said he would rejoin us shortly. I went to take a shower, since I had dirt on my clothes and my legs- I guessed the creature had dragged me of the ground for a while after it had knocked me out. 

When I came out of the bathroom, the boys were laying in bed, watching t.v. 

“Dad and Caleb are outside the room talking,” Dean told me.

“Daddy said we can stay up for a little while and watch a movie! Come watch with us, Kate!” Sam beckoned me. He scooted over in bed, and grabbed my hand. “Get between us so we can both snuggle you,” he said. “We missed you!” 

I got under the covers between them. “What are we watching?”

“Bug's Life!” Sam said with a grin. “I love the pill bug guys! 'You fired!',” he imitated them, and laughed.

“Yeah, they're pretty silly.” I agreed.

I woke up very early in the morning, with Sam and Dean both curled up next to me. I eased myself out from between them, and went to the bathroom. Caleb was asleep in the sofa, and Dad was asleep in my bed. There were several empty beer bottles on the coffee table. After I used the bathroom, I came back and got into bed. I tried to go back to sleep, but I laid awake wondering what was going to happen today.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lapse in posting, I broke my pinky about a week and a half ago. Now that the swelling and bruising is mostly gone, I'm dealing with the pain that comes from a bone growing back together, and it can be distracting and...painful. THANK YOU to all of you who have left reviews and kudos!  
> CONTENT WARNING: Kate gets spanked with a belt in this chapter, do not read if this will offend or bother you.  
> ***********

I finally gave up trying to sleep, and got out out of bed to go find something to eat. I went over to the mini-kitchen and got out a package of Pop-Tarts. The journal that I had seen before, with all of the pages with symbols and stuff, was on the counter, and it was open. Someone had written down information about the crocotta. I leaned on the counter on my elbow, skimming the page, and then I started to flip through the book. 

A hand reached around me and closed the book. I gasped and stood up straight, turning around. Dad stood behind me, and he looked angry. He picked up the journal and buttoned the strap on it closed. “This is my personal journal,” he said curtly. “It has information about cases, but it also has private things in it too. You don't go looking through a hunter's journal without permission, you hear me?”

Tears came to my eyes. I had just woken up and I had managed to get myself in trouble again! 

“I'm sorry Dad!” I said. “I—I didn't know!” 

“I know you didn't, that's why I'm letting it go this time. If you go into my journal again, you will be in trouble, is that clear?” 

“Y-yes sir, I'm sorry,” I said again. 

He put the journal on the table and then pulled me to him for a hug. “I'm sorry, Kate, I don't mean to be so stern with you. I'm a little protective of my journal because it has...it has information about my wife, and I don't want the boys to see it. They're not ready. And Sammy can't know anything about it yet.”

“I shouldn't have been looking at it, it's your personal journal.” I hugged him back, enjoying the feeling of his arms around me. “I was so scared” I whispered. 

“I'm sure you were,” he said quietly. “But you're safe now, remember that.” He dropped a kiss on my head and then let me go. 

“We're going to leave today, and go back to Pastor Jim's. I've got to start making plans for the fall.”

“Okay,” I said. I didn't want to ask if he was going to punish me today, although I was curious. The thought of facing that made me lose my appetite, and I put the half-eaten Pop Tart back into its sleeve and put it on the counter. 

Dad picked up his journal and took it over to one of the duffles that was across the room.

Caleb sat up on the sofa, blinking his eyes, and he stretched and yawned. I heard the two men talking quietly to each other as I walked around the divider to where my bag was. I got out a pair of shorts and a shirt, and went to change in the bathroom. 

When I came out, the boys were awake. Dean got up and turned the t.v. on, and found some cartoons. As he was laying back down in bed, Dad came over.   
“We're going back to Pastor Jim's today,” he told us. “You need to pack your duffles up; we'll go get breakfast in a little while.”

“Can we go to the pool before we leave?” Sam asked. 

“No, I don't think so,” Dad said. “I'd like to get on the road soon. We'll go out for breakfast after we're all packed, and then come back here. I need to have a talk with Kate.” 

I had been putting my pajamas in my bag, and I turned to look at him. 

“Um, you mean...” I looked a question at him.

“Yes, Kate,” he nodded, and then turned and went back over to the sofa. 

I swallowed and tears came to my eyes. Sam and Dean looked at me sympathetically. 

“Sorry, Kate,” Dean whispered. 

I shrugged. “It's my own dumb fault,” I said. 

“Boys, turn the t.v. off and get moving,” Dad called over. 

“We can watch while we pack,” Sam said. 

“No, you can't. You get too distracted by the t.v. Turn it off,” Dad repeated. 

Sam got off of the bed in a huff and grabbed the remote to turn the t.v. off, muttering something under his breath. 

Dad came back around the wall and looked at Sam with his eyebrows raised. “Excuse me, young man?” he said sternly. “Do I need to have a talk with you as well?”

Sam blushed, and looked at his feet. “No sir,” he said. 

Dad looked at him for a long moment. “Put the attitude away and get a move on,” he said in a low voice. He turned and went into the bathroom. 

“Sam, you can't do that, you know he has ears like a bat!” Dean hissed. 

“I wanna watch cartoons!” Sam complained. “And swim in the pool!” 

“Well, at least we're gonna go out for breakfast. You can get pancakes!” Dean tried to make Sam feel better. The three of us finished packing our bags and brought them over to the door for Dad to put in the car when he was ready. 

Caleb came with us to the diner. I wasn't hungry, my stomach was in knots because of the impending 'talk' that I was going to be having with Dad. 

When it was my turn to order, I looked up at the waitress and shook my head. “Just a glass of orange juice, please.” I said. 

“No food? You sure, hon?” 

I nodded, and then glanced across the table at Dad. He was looking at me with a stern look on his face. When the waitress left, he leaned over.  
“You're not going to start this again, where you don't eat anything,” he said firmly.

“I won't,” I said. “I just-- I'm not hungry, because of-- of later. And I had part of a Pop Tart this morning.” 

He sat up and sighed. “All right. You make sure you finish it later, though.” 

I played tic-tac-toe on the paper placemats with the boys, and then we played hangman. I drank my juice and looked out the window while they ate. 

I got more nervous as they finished up. We drove back to the hotel, and then Dad told the boys that Caleb was going to take them to the playground for a while. The three of them left the room, and Dad turned to me. 

“We're going to get to your punishment,” Dad said, “But first, we need to have a talk.” He held his hand out and I took it. He led me over to my bed and we sat down on the end of it. He turned to me and put his hands on his knees. “I talked to Caleb and he told me everything else that happened to you,” he said. “I also called Pastor Jim last night and talked with him.”

I looked at Dad. “You did? Why?”

He nodded. “Because I think there's more going on here than you breaking rules and leaving. I wanted to get his opinion about everything. And that's what I want to talk to you about.” 

He shifted on the bed and smiled at me. 

“I know you were babysitting the boys before, and you were responsible for them, and you did a good job with that. But what has happened over the past couple of days is not something I would have expected from you, because you are such a responsible kid. You do the right thing, for the most part. You never would have left the boys alone in the middle of the night before, you never would have let Dean go off on his own, you would not have broken curfew or any of the rules I put into place.”

Tears came to my eyes. “I'm sor-”

He held his hand up and cut me off. “No, I don't want you to start feeling bad and saying you're sorry. Right now I want you to just listen to me, all right?” 

I took a deep breath and nodded.

“I have to look at what is different now from how it was before. And I realized that it's only been a short times since your parents-- since your life completely changed. You're still adjusting to everything, and you're still grieving, even of you're not aware of it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked defensively.”The-- the creature said the same thing, but I'm not grieving anymore! I'm not having dreams about-- about the vampire, or that night, any more.” 

Dad looked at me, and his eyes were sad. “Sweetheart, grief takes a long time. Just because you're not having nightmares anymore doesn't mean that you're finished. My wife passed 6 years ago, and not a day goes by that I don't wake up and miss her and grieve her. You've got to take your time with it, and not bury it, so that it gets dealt with.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “And you're not just grieving the loss of your parents, but the realization that your relationship with them and your life before wasn't-- wasn't good.” 

I swallowed, and then tears started to pour down my face. He pulled me close to him and held me, and I cried for a few minutes.   
“I didn't know...” I said. “I didn't know it was going to be like this, that it was going to be hard sometimes.” 

He pulled back and tilted my chin up so I was looking at him. “Well, why do you think you went to find your mother? Because you still have grief inside that hasn't been dealt with. And as screwed up as that creature was, I think he was right when he said that you went to him because you were still hoping to find some sort of relationship with your mother.” 

I put my head on his chest again and sobbed. He rubbed my back as I calmed down. 

After a couple of minutes, he started to talk again. “Even though I gave you rules to follow, and expected you to completely fall in line, I understand now that I can't do that with you, because this is different than what you've known previously. You're not used to having rules in place to follow, rules that are meant to keep you safe. You're not used to not having to take care of the adults in your life and everyone around you. That was your job before. You're not used to having people who care about you and want to make sure you're safe. You're not used to having someone hold you accountable for breaking rules, and showing that they care by making those rules.”

During this speech, my eyes filled with tears again. He was right in everything he was saying. The only rules in my life before had had to do with keeping my parent's house running smoothly, and had nothing to do with taking care of me. Dad saw that there were more tears in my eyes, and he reached over and put his hand on mine and smiled again. 

“So I guess I was wrong in expecting you to just be able to do all that, when I can't, because it's not how you grew up. I have to remember that you were in a family where they expected you to take care of them and do everything, and your needs and wants were not taken into consideration. So of course you're not going to tell me when something upsetting is happening to you. I saw how your father reacted to you when that boy came on to you at The Circle- remember how upset you were, and how he didn't give you any sympathy?”

I nodded and sniffled.

“I know now that I need to change things with you, I can't keep giving you all of these responsibilities with the boys, because you need to get used to being part of a family. You need to be one of the kids who is taken care of, not the one who is taking care of everyone else. I'm going to have to work on changing that, we all are. And I'm going to have to give you time to get used to being part of a family where you are loved and cared about instead of being treated like a servant.”   
He let go of my hand and brushed a tear off of my face with his fingertip. Then he sat up straight. 

“Having said all that, we still have to deal with the fact that you did something very dangerous. You put yourself in danger, and part of your actions also put the boys in danger. I take that very seriously. In this life, you can't do things that deliberately put yourself in danger, you have to assess the situation properly and decide what to do. You didn't do any of that, you ran off half-cocked into a situation that could have-- could have gotten you killed."

“You know that I spank the boys, and when they do something serious like put themselves in danger they get a more serious punishment. When I caught Sam playing with matches he got a bare- bottom spanking. When Dean took the gun out of my safe, he got a couple of swats with my belt added on to the end of his spanking. I grew up with my grandfather doling out my punishments, and he was an old-fashioned, strict man, and if I had done what you did he would have made me cut a switch and then worn me out with it.”

“A switch?” I asked. I had no idea what that was.

“A thin tree branch. It makes sitting very painful for at least a couple of days.”

“Oh gosh,” I said. 

“Now, I'm not that harsh, but I believe that putting yourself or others in danger should be dealt with by serious consequences. So I'm going to spank you, and at the end I'm going to give you one swat with the belt for every rule that was broken. I know you are already due a spanking for breaking the rule about staying together, and letting Dean stay at the pool, but I'm going to include that in the spanking.”

He held his hand up and ticked off each rule on a finger as he said it. “You left the boys alone in the room, which is one, you crossed the highway, which is two, you broke curfew, which is three, you answered the phone when it wasn't me, not once, but three times, which is four, you lied to me by not telling me what was going on-- which is a lie of omission, which is five, you continued to with-hold information, which is keeping secrets, which is six.”   
He put his hand down and sighed. “Let's deal with this now.”

I swallowed, my throat suddenly gone dry. I felt even more nervous now.

He took his belt off and then folded it in half and set it next to him. He beckoned me to him, and I hesitated, then laid myself down over his lap, so that my torso was on the bed and my legs were dangling off of his lap. Tears were already in my eyes as I felt him put his hand on my lower back. I took hold of the comforter on the bed in both hands.

He began spanking me, and the swats weren't too hard at first. Slowly the sting built up, and I started to shift uncomfortably as he started to spank me harder. I began to sob as he laid down a set of harder, faster swats, making the sting in my bottom worse.

Then he paused, and I felt him moving, and I heard the belt buckle jingle as he picked it up. “You're going to tell me the rules that you broke, and then you'll get a swat for each one. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes sir,” I said, fear twisting in my stomach.

“Uh, the first one, I mean, I, um, I left the boys alone in the room.” I swallowed, and I heard a swishing sound, and then a loud smack, and then I felt a line of pain explode on my bottom, and I let out a little shriek and burst into tears. 

“I'm sorry!” I sobbed. “I'm so sorry!”

“I know, Kate. What's the next rule you broke?” 

“Um, I, I broke curfew, I left the room late at night,” I braced myself for the next swat, but it didn't help, it hurt as much as the first one. I twisted the comforter on the bed towards me and held on. 

“Next,” he said simply.

“I crossed the highway,” I said. “Please!” I reached back to cover my bottom.

“Please what?” he asked. “You don't think you deserve this? How many rules did you break?”

“I'm sorry! I just-- I just--” 

“You have to face the consequences of your actions,” he said sternly. “Now move your hand.”

“I—I can't!” I wailed.

“You can, and you will,” he paused. “If you don't move your hand, I will add extra licks onto the end. Is that what you want?”

“No! Please!” I moved my hand back and grabbed the comforter again, pulling it towards me and bunching it up so I could bury my face in it. 

I tensed up as I heard the buckle jingle, and then there was the smack of the belt and the pain across my bottom, and I yelped. I sobbed into the comforter.   
“I'm waiting.” he said. “Next rule broken.”

“Uh, I answered the ph-- phone, when it w- wasn't you, three ti- times.” I gulped nervously, waiting for the next smack to fall. The belt came down lower on my bottom and I cried out. 

“Next.” 

“I—I lied to you--please, Dad-” My breath hitched with my sobs.

The belt fell again and I kicked my feet and threw my hand back to cover my bottom again.

“Kate,” he said in a deeper voice. “Move your hand NOW.” 

He waited a moment. “All right, that's one extra.”

“No!” I whimpered and struggled, pushing up with my feet.

“That's two extra.” he said in a hard voice. 

“Pleeease!” I whined, starting to cry harder.

“Kate, you are disobeying me while you are in the middle of being punished! Should I just give you another spanking with the belt right now, for disobeying me?”

“Noooo!” I howled, moving my hand. I started to twist, pushing up on the bed to try and get up from his lap, but he pulled me towards him, holding my body against his side and putting his arm around my waist to keep me held there. Now my body was bent slightly and I couldn't reach back any more, and I couldn't get up.

“What's the next rule you broke?”

I couldn't think, I was so upset. “I—I-- uh—I don't knoooow!” I wailed.

"You kept everything a secret, and you with-held what was going on. This whole thing could have been avoided if you had just been honest and talked to me!" he said in an angry voice.

The belt crashed down, right on the lowest part of my butt, and I wailed wordlessly.

"We'd be done now if you had obeyed me, but you've earned two extra." he said.    
The belt came down again, right where it had before, right in that place where butt meets thigh, and he laid both swats down one right after the other. I kicked my feet and sobbed aloud. 

I felt him moving again and heard the buckle clank as he put the belt down on the bed. I laid over his lap sobbing for a few moments, then he helped me to sit up in his lap. My bottom was throbbing and stinging. I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his shirt and sobbed. He put his arms around me and held me tightly. 

“All right, it's done.” he said, rubbing the back of my head. He smoothed my hair back from my face. “It's over and done, you're all right, shh.” 

“I'm sorry,” I sobbed. “I'm sorry I put the boys in danger and myself and I didn't talk to you about anything and—and--”

“Shhh, Kate, I know you're sorry. It's over and dealt with, sweetheart.” 

“How can you care about me when I did so many bad things?” I sobbed.

“Because you're my family, and family always care about each other. They don't shut their kids away in their room and forget about them, or expect them to take care of everything for them. You're my daughter, and I'm going to take care of you.”

“I'm making your shirt all wet,” I mumbled.

“It's all right, Kate,” he said with a chuckle. “I can change my shirt.” 

He looked down at me. “When we get back, I want you to continue to talk with Pastor Jim. I think it will do you good. And, I want you to talk to me too. I know you're not used to being able to rely on the parental figures in your life for support, but try to remind yourself that things are different now. I'm going to ask you how you are doing, and I want you to be honest with me. I want you to get comfortable with telling me things. All right?”

“Yes, sir,” I sniffled. 

“Good girl,” he kissed my forehead. “We should get going, check out is soon.” 

I stood up and went over to the sink to splash water on my face and blow my nose. Dad went to the door and picked up our duffles to load them in the car. I heard him calling across the parking lot to Caleb and the boys. In a couple of minutes, they were in the room, getting water to drink. Sam and Dean looked at my face cautiously, trying to gauge how upset I was. 

I smiled at them. “I'm okay,” I told them in a low voice. 

Caleb and Dad chatted for a few minutes, and then Caleb said he was going to leave. He came over and shook my hand, and then the boy's hands as well.  
“Y'all be good,” he said. “Take care of each other, and your old man, too.” 

“Who you calling old?” Dad said, and Caleb grinned at him. “You, old man,” he said.

“Go on and get outta here,” Dad said to him with a fake growl. 

We did one last check of the room, and picked up the bags with the food and snacks, and then got into the car. Dad stopped by the office to check out, and then we were on the road.

I discovered that like the boys, I didn't like riding in the car with a sore butt either. I was in the back with Sam and Dean, and I kept having to shift position.   
“Put your leg under you so that you're sitting on that and not on the seat, it gives part of your butt a break,” Dean told me quietly. I tried that for a while, but I still had to shift around. 

Dad stopped at a drive-through for lunch, and kept driving, so that we could be back by that evening. We pulled into the driveway right after dinnertime. 

Dad opened the trunk and began to pass bags to us. Each of us carried something into the house, and dropped them at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Well, hey, y'all,” Rosemary came out to the living room. “How's everyone doing?”

“Glad to be out of the car,” Dad said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, there's chicken casserole on the counter, it should still be warm. You kids hungry?” she smiled at us. We followed her into the kitchen and she got us each a plate of food. 

“John, you want some coffee?” Pastor Jim was at the counter in the kitchen.

“You know I do,” Dad said, accepting a mug from him.

“So things were...eventful,” Pastor Jim said. 

“You could say that,” Dad said, looking at me.

“Kate ran away,” Sam piped up. “Someone tricked her and made her think that her Mom was calling her and she went to see who it was and Daddy's friend found her and brought her back to us!” 

“That sounds very stressful,” Pastor Jim said. 

“It was,” Sam said. “We were worried we would never see her again!” He looked at me. “We were so scared, Kate!”

Tears came to my eyes. I hadn't even thought about how my actions would affect the boys. 

“I'm sorry,” I said. “I—I wasn't thinking clearly. I'll never do something like that again.” 

“Well, she's home safe now, and that's what matters, right?” Rosemary asked. 

Once we had finished eating, Dean and I cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. Then we sat on the front porch, eating ice cream. 

“I'm going to have to get your transcripts together, boys,” Dad said.

“What's tran- scrip?” Sam asked.

“It's your records for school,” Dad explained to him. “And Bobby's getting some made for you, too, Kate. We'll have to sit down and figure out some family history for you, also.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. 

“Well, people will ask questions sometimes, about your history or whatever. It's good to have a story in place beforehand, rather than making something up on the spot. If you already have something in mind, it's easier to remember, than it is when you make things up. I got your baby book and your school paperwork from your parent's house, so we can look through that and figure things out.”

“Oh,” I shifted uncomfortably. I didn't really relish the idea of looking back through photos and information about my childhood right now. But I guess we'd have to at some point. 

 

That night, at bedtime, Dad came into my room to tuck me in. It made me feel good that he still did that for me, my parents hadn't done anything like that in a long time.

He sat down on the bed facing me. “School is going to start in less than a month,” he told me.

“Where are we going to live?” I asked. “Where will we go to school?”

“I'm going to be working on that tomorrow,” Dad said. “How are you doing?”

“I'm nervous,” I admitted. “I grew up going to the same school system all my life, seeing the same kids in the hallways and classes every year. And everything is going to be different now.”

“It is,” he agreed, nodding. “But I think it will work out. There will be an adjustment period, but there always is when you start a new school year, right?”

“Yeah, there is.” 

He leaned forward and hugged me, and kissed the top of my head. “Get some sleep.” 

I laid down and he pulled the covers up. “Thanks for taking me in, Dad.” I said softly.

He smiled down at me. “You belonged with us, it was obvious for a long time.” he said. 

“I'm glad it worked out.”

“Me too. Good night, Kate.”

“Good night, Dad.”

I didn't have any nightmares or even remember my dreams that night. 

 

In the morning, Rosemary was the only one in the kitchen. She had made sausage and was cooking a pan of scrambled eggs. “Your Dad went into town with Pastor Jim to take care of a few things,” she told me. 

I sat down at the table, and Sam and Dean came in, rubbing their eyes sleepily.

“Is that bacon?” Sam asked.

“No, silly, it's sausage!” Dean said.

“I'm not silly!” Sam shoved Dean. 

“Can't you tell the difference?” Dean asked. “I can!” 

“Settle down, you two,” Rosemary said. “Why don't y'all set the table instead of bickering?” 

We got up and set out dishes and silverware. 

“Can we go to the playground, now that the bear is gone?” Sam asked. “Daddy said we could go by ourselves sometimes.” 

“I don't know about that, Sam,” Rosemary said doubtfully. “I'd like to check with him before I let you go off on your own. He and Pastor Jim should be back by this afternoon, they can take you over then.” 

After we ate, we went into the living room to watch t.v. The boys wanted to watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or something like that. It didn't really interest me, but I sat with them anyway. After the show was over, Sam said, “Let's go out and look at the garden. Pastor Jim said the corn is almost ripe!” 

“Okay,” Dean said. We went out back, and walked through the rows of corn that were growing. 

“Hey, come look at this caterpillar!” Sam called. I followed Dean over to where Sam was standing. There was a large, fat green caterpillar on the stalk of one of the plants. 

Dean bent down. “Look, you can see him eating!” he laughed. 

“Maybe we can keep him and then see what he turns into!” Sam said. He walked over to the edge of the plot. “Let's go look to see if we can find more,” he said. “Maybe there's some of those furry ones on the trees.” 

“Um, shouldn't we ask?” I said.

“Nah, we're just gonna be right here,” Dean followed Sam over to the treeline. “And I'm good at tracking, too.” he said confidently. 

“I'm going to let Rosemary know what we're doing,” I said, turning back to the house.

Sam gasped. “I just saw a bunny!” he pointed, squatting down. “It was brown and gray! It went over there, into that log!”

He stood up and ran towards the log, and Dean followed him. “Sam, be quiet! Walk very slowly and soft, you don't want to scare it!” 

“Boys--” I said.

“C'mon, Kate!” Sam beckoned me. “Let's look for it! I'll go around the other side of the log, and you guys stay on that side, and we can grab it!” 

I walked with Dean over to the log. Dean crouched down and tried to look into the end. 

Sam crouched down on the other end. 

“Make it come out!” Sam hissed. 

“Shh!” Dean said. 

Overhead, there was the sound of something in the trees, and then some flapping and squawking.

“Maybe it was hiding from that bird.” Dean whispered in a stage whisper  
.   
Sam stood up and walked over to the side of the log, and then he pounded on the top with his fist.

“Sam!” Dean scolded, and then we all saw the flash of brown as the rabbit ran out of the log and into the woods. I saw its little white tail flip as it ran away.  
Sam ran after it, laughing.

“Sam, wait!” Dean called. He ran after Sam, and I ran after Dean, not wanting to lose them.

“Boys, we shouldn't go too far,” I said. 

“Look, the house is just over there,” Dean pointed behind him.

I turned around to look. I could see part of the edge of Pastor Jim's house through the trees. When I turned back around, Sam was gone. 

“Sam, wait up!” Dean called, and he ran. I had no choice but to follow him.

“Dean! I called after him. “Slow down! Where is Sam!”

“Sammy!” Dean said loudly. “Sam, where'd you go?” 

We walked for a couple of minutes, calling for Sam every once in a while. 

“Dean, let's go back,” I said worriedly. “We can get Dad's help.”

“Nah, I'm looking for Sam,” he said with confidence. 

“Well hurry up and find him!” I snapped. 

“I think he went this way, see how the leaves are all crunched down? It's 'cause he ran over them.” he explained. 

“Let's just find him,” I said worriedly. “Sam!” I hollered. 

“Shh, you'll scare away the animals.”

“I don't care!” I said. “Finding Sam is more important!” 

There was a crunching, crackling noise like something was walking through the underbrush.

“Oh my gosh, it's a woodchuck!” Dean said. He pointed. “Look, Kate, can you see it?”

I tried to see where he was pointing, but I couldn't see anything. 

He started to walk away from me, fast. 

“Dean, wait up,” I said. Suddenly my foot caught in a tree branch and I fell forward. My hands and knees got all dirty, and my shoe came off. The lace had actually gotten tangles in the little thorns on the branch. It took me a couple of minutes to work it loose, and my fingers kept catching on the thorns painfully. By the time I had gotten the lace free, a couple of my fingertips were bleeding.

I put my shoe back on and tied the laces, then started walking in the direction that Dean had gone.

“Dean? Dean!” I called. “Where are you!” 

I walked several more feet and the stopped. I didn't hear anything that sounded like a boy walking through the woods. I turned around, looking for any sign of either Sam or Dean, but all I saw was green leaves and brown branches and tree trunks. I got scared. Where had they gone? How far away from Pastor Jim's house had we gotten? Where was I? How was I going to find Sam and Dean and get back?


	25. Chapter 25

It felt like I had been walking for hours. The sun filtering through the leaves overhead was getting lower, so I knew that it was later in the afternoon. I was keeping the panic barely held at bay, because I knew if I panicked it wouldn't do me much good. 

I tried to look at the trees around me and remember what they looked like so I could try and figure out if I was walking in circles, but they all looked the same to me. And if I didn't look down and watch where I was walking, I caught my feet in a vine or stumbled over a root. I looked for some sort of path, any path, but I must have been so deep in the woods that there was nothing. 

I stopped for a moment and sat down on a large log. I brushed my sweaty hair back from my face with a shaking hand. I was hungry, and thirsty, and scared. Dad had said he would always find me, but he didn't know these woods at all. How could he find me? 

I worried about the boys. How had Sam managed to disappear so quickly? I hoped he hadn't fallen and hurt himself. We were going to be in trouble for leaving the house and not telling anyone where we had gone. I was going to be in trouble, because I was supposed to be responsible for all three of us and I let them go running off. I swallowed nervously- my butt was still a little sore from the belt, would Dad spank me with it again? Was running off into the woods considered putting yourself in danger? Tears came to my eyes and I wiped them away quickly. 

I took a deep breath and stood up, deciding to keep walking. My stomach rumbled with hunger as I walked. I tripped on another tree root, and I put my hand out to grab a branch as I started to fall, but it moved, and then I felt a sharp pain across my back and heard a ripping sound. After I stood up, I reached around and felt my back where it was hurting. My fingers came away bloody. Great, so now I had a cut on my back from a branch. At this point, I was starting to really dislike the woods. Was it possible to become a hunter who didn't have to go into the woods at all? Maybe I could just hunt creatures that lived in cities and towns and not have to go into the forest at all.

I thought I heard someone calling. I stood still and held my breath.

“Hellooooo!” Someone yelled from a distance. “Kate! Kate Winchester, are you there! Kate!”

“Yes!” I yelled back. “I'm here! I'm over here!” I didn't know whether to try and run toward the voice or not. He must have read my mind.

“Stay where you are and I'll come to you! Keep calling to me!” the man yelled. 

“Okay!” I called. “I'm here! There's a large tree with fluffy vines around it on my right!” I looked around. “And a big tangled bush to my left! I'm here!” 

In a couple of minutes, I heard someone walking through the leaves. I saw the man coming towards me, and I started crying with relief. I ran over to him. He was tall and had brown shaggy hair and a leather vest over his shirt. 

“You Kate?” he asked me. 

“Yes!” I said, trying not to sob.

He looked at me. “You look like you been through the wringer!” he touched my sleeve. While I had been pulling a branch back to walk under a spiderweb, my sleeve had gotten caught and ripped a little. 

“I fell down a couple times and my shirt kept getting caught on branches.” I told him. 

“Let's get ya to my truck,” he said. “Name's Darrell.”

“Nice to meet you.” I said. “Wait, we have to find my brothers. Two little boys, Sam and Dean- we can't leave without them!” 

“They been found already.” he told me. “You're the last one they're lookin' for.” 

“Oh,” I said, feeling relief wash over me. “Are they okay?” I asked him.

“Far as I know,” he replied, turning away from me. 

I followed him through the woods, and a couple of times he stopped and held out his arm for me to take, to steady me as we stepped over large fallen logs.  
Finally we reached a clearing, where there was an old beat up truck off to the side. 

Darrell pulled out a cell phone and made a call. “Hey, Murphy...I got her. Off of route 104, almost 2 miles from the church.” he chuckled. “Yeah. She's okay, a little banged up. All right, see you in a few.” He put the phone in his pocket and opened the passenger door for me. I got in and closed it. He got into the driver's side and reached down to open a cooler that was at my feet, and handed me a bottle of water. “You're probably dyin' of thirst.' he said. “It was a hot one today, and from the looks of ya, you were sweatin' a lot too.”

“Thank you.” I said. “Where-- where are we?”

He started the truck, and chuckled again. “We're almost two miles away from Jim's church. You know where that is?”

“Yes, we're staying with Pastor Jim right now.” I said.

He nodded. “And his house is right behind the church, ain't it?”

“Yeah.” I said. “Almost two miles! How did I manage that?”

He shook his head. “I dunno, kid. I don't think you've got a good sense of direction, do ya?”

“I guess not. Dad is going to teach me how to track and stuff...I'm not used to being in the woods.”

“Oh.” he glanced at me.

I realized that I was going to have to figure out some sort of story. If Dad was this great hunter, how would I explain that I wasn't like that? How would I explain not having any knowledge of the things he did? What if I tried to learn to hunt, and I couldn't do it? What if I always got lost in the woods? What would I do?   
“Thank you for, uh, finding me.” I said to him. 

“No problem. Glad I was here to help.” 

We pulled into the parking lot of the church. People were milling around, and there were several cars parked off to the side. 

“Jim got a bunch of people together to look for y'all,” Darrell told me. 

“That was nice of him.” I said. I felt a little apprehensive but also grateful that the ordeal was over. People had turned to watch the truck when we drove in, and as I opened the door, the crowd parted and Dad came walking towards us. I got out of the truck and as I walked over to him Sam and Dean came around behind him.   
“Kate!” Sam said. 

I ran up to him and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. “How could you run off like that! Where did you go!” I yelled, and I burst into tears. 

I let go of him and covered my face with my hands, embarrassed of my outburst and tears in front of everyone.

I felt arms circling me and opened my eyes. Dad was hugging me. I put my arms around him and rested my head on his broad chest.

“I'm so glad you're safe, Kate,” he said. “It's all right,” he said comfortingly as I sobbed. 

“Dad I'm sorry! I—I told them we shouldn't go into the woods, and I was going to go tell Rosemary, but then Sam saw the rabbit, and he ran--”

He pulled back and looked down at me. “Shh,” he said. “The boys told me what happened.”

“Am I in trouble?” I asked warily.

He sighed. “Let's put it this way. You're all in trouble, but for different reasons, and the consequences will be different.”

“Oh.” I did feel reassured by that, but then I felt guilty too. “But-- I went with them, and I should have stopped them, and went to tell--”

“Well, this is on them. They know better than to just run off into the woods like that, and they didn't listen to you. And we know how stubborn Sam is.” ”

“O-okay.” I said. 

Dad let go of me and I turned towards the boys. They were both looking shame-faced at the ground. “Sorry, Kate,” Dean said, and Sam chimed in, “Yeah, sorry Kate. We shouldn't have run off like that.”

“I was so into tracking Sam that I didn't think about you not having a lot a 'sperience in the woods,” Dean looked up at me. “I'm s'posed to watch out for you and Sammy.” 

“No, you're not, Dean,” I told him. “I'm supposed to be the one watching out for you two.” 

“All three of you are supposed to be watching out for each other,” Dad said. “Now, let's go home, and get you three cleaned up.” He put his hand on my back, right where the cut was, and I winced.

“What's wrong, Kate?” Dad looked at me with concern.

“I- I got scraped by a branch.” I told him. 

“Turn around,” he said. “I'm going to lift the back of your shirt to check, all right?”

I turned, and felt him lift my shirt up.

“I'll clean it up when we get to Jim's,” he told me.

Pastor Jim came over to us. “Everyone has been found,” he called to the crowd of people. “Thank you for coming out to help in the search, and that you to those of you who brought food and drink and supplies.” 

Everyone started to walk to their cars.

“I'm going to stay here until everyone is gone, I'll meet you at the house in a few,” Pastor Jim said to Dad.

“We walked over,” Dad said to me. “Let's go.” 

As we walked through the crowd, Sam took my hand. I could hear people talking.  
“Those darn kids need to have their butts warmed,” someone grumbled as we walked by. I blushed, embarrassed and guilty. All three of us went into the woods when we shouldn't have. I could have tried harder to stop them, I guess. 

Dad ushered us into the kitchen and directed us to sit down. He poured three tall glasses of water and set them in front of us. “I want you to drink,” he told us. “I don't want you getting dehydrated. Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” Dean said.

“Do you want a sandwich? I can make ham and cheese, or peanut butter and jelly, and we've also got turkey lunch meat.”

The boys asked for ham and cheese. 

“Kate?” Dad asked, looking at me.

“Uh, whatever you want to do,” I said, shrugging.

“No, you tell me what you want.” he smiled at me. 

“Turkey with lettuce and mayo?” I asked.

“I think I can do that.” he said. 

In a couple of minutes, he brought the sandwiches over to us, and set out a bowl with baby carrots in it. 

“Eat some vegetables too,” he said.

“Aww, do I have to?” Dean complained.

“Yes, you do,” Dad said sternly. “I want you to eat three.”

“This sucks,” Dean muttered, scowling.

“Watch your language, young man,” Dad sounded even more stern. “You're already in enough trouble as it is, you want to add more to your spanking?”

Dean blushed, and looked up at Dad. “Uh, no sir.”

“You forgot to cut the crusts off, Dad,” Sam said dolefully. 

“You can still eat it, Sam,” Dad told him.

“Kate always remembers,” Sam muttered. “and she cuts it into triangles.”

“Samuel. No more complaining. Eat.” Dad said. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “Do I even need to tell you how wrong you three were for running off into the woods like that? What were you thinking?”

Sam and Dean looked at each other. “We, uh, we were looking for caterpillars.”

“All this trouble because you two went looking at bugs, and then you decided to go follow a wild animal.” Dad shook his head. “I guess I have more to teach you about being responsible when you are tracking and walking through the woods.” 

“But Daaad-” Sam started.

“And you-” Dad looked at Sam, “Need to stop doing what you want on a whim, and start thinking about the repercussions of your actions.”

“The what of my what?” Sam's brows creased in a frown.

“You need to think before you act, Sam. Think- 'if I run off after this rabbit, how likely is it that I'm going to get lost, or that the people I'm with will be able to keep up with me or get lost? Am I even supposed to be doing this?' You need to not run off and do whatever you want. This can't keep happening. If it does, I'm going to have to re-think what exactly you're allowed to do.” Dad was looking at him sternly.

“No fair,” Sam muttered darkly, frowning at his plate.

“Yes fair. You did the wrong thing, and you need to realize that when you do things like this, it's going to have long-reaching consequences as well as immediate ones.”

Sam looked up at him. “What does that mean?” 

“Well, the immediate consequence is that you're going to get a spanking. The long-reaching consequence is that I may decide that you aren't allowed to go outside at all unless an adult is with you.” 

“Noooo!” Sam whined. “I don't want a spankin'! An' I wanna be able to go outside by myself!”

Dad frowned at him. “That's another thing you should have thought of, then. 'If I run off into the woods after a rabbit, am I doing the right thing? What kind of trouble am I going to be getting into?'”

Pastor Jim came into the kitchen just then, carrying his first aid kit. “Boys, do you have any injuries that need to be treated?” he asked.  
They both said no.

“So I guess Kate is the only one who got hurt.” he said.

“I don't think the forest likes me,” I said. “I kept tripping over roots and getting caught on branches.”

Dad chuckled. “You just need to learn how to be more aware of things when you're walking through the woods.” 

He turned and put away all of the sandwich supplies, and we finished eating.

“All right,” Dad said, turning back to us. “Boys, you go up to your room and wait for me, and I'll deal with you in a few minutes. Kate, your consequence is going to be early bedtime for three nights, and no reading before bed.” 

The boys got up and trudged towards the stairs, heads down and shoulders sloping dejectedly.

“What?” I felt stunned. “No- no reading? But- but--”

“I didn't say no reading at all,” Dad said. “Just not before bedtime.”

Tears came to my eyes, even though I felt angry. “That- that's not fair!” I said hotly.

“Would you rather have the same consequence as the boys?” he asked dryly, and his hand dropped to his belt. 

I gulped. “Uh- no, sir.” I said. 

“Then you will accept what I've given you.” he said. 

“Yes sir,” I said meekly, looking down at my lap. 

Dad turned, and took a wooden spoon out of a canister that was on the counter next to the stove, and followed the boys. 

“Let me look at your back, Kate,” Pastor Jim said.

I turned around and he lifted the back of my shirt. “What happened here?” he asked.

“I was moving a branch out of the way, and another tree branch scraped across my back.” I said. 

He opened his first aid kit. “This is going to be cold and sting a little bit.” he said. I felt him rubbing something along the cut, and I winced. Then I felt him applying something else. “You should shower tonight, you've got a lot of dirt all over,” he said. “After your shower, we can apply some more ointment. All done.” He lowered my shirt.

Just then a wail drifted down the stairs. 

“Poor Sam,” I said, biting my lip.

“Well, Sam knows how to get himself in trouble.” Pastor Jim said. “He's always had his own mind, and always been stubborn. He and John are going to butt heads when he's older, mark my words.” 

“I- I feel guilty that they're getting spanked and I'm not,” I said, ducking my head.

“Well, you did go into the woods with them, but your motivation was different. The boys just ran off half-cocked, much like you did at the hotel. They did something dangerous. You tried to stop them, and you went with them to keep an eye on them. And they certainly know better than to go running off into the woods chasing animals. So, like John said, your consequence is different.”

“I still feel bad.”

He smiled at me. “That's part of being in a family. There's going to be other times when one or both boys gets into trouble and gets punished, and it's not going to have anything to do with you. I had a younger brother who had such a mouth on him, he couldn't keep quiet to save his life, and always had to have the last word. It didn't matter how many times me and my brothers talked to him about keeping quiet, the kid couldn't stop, and he got his butt roasted more than any of us, because of it. But we knew it wasn't our responsibility. And he knew when to stop, he just didn't.” 

“Oh geez,” I said. “What happened to him?”

“He's a very successful lawyer now,” Pastor Jim grinned, shaking his head. 

 

When Dad came in to say good night to me, I was already laying down in bed. My arms were crossed in front of me and I felt wide awake. I had to go to bed at the same time as the boys, an hour earlier than I was used to. 

Dad stood by the bed, looking down at me. “What's wrong?” he asked.

“I still think it's not fair that I can't read before bed.”

“Well, that's your consequence.” 

“Well it sucks.” I huffed. 

He raised his eyebrows. “Watch it,” he said warningly. “Jim told me you were feeling guilty because the boys got spanked and you didn't. Are you trying to push me so that I'll spank you too?”

“No!” I snapped, then I thought about it. “I don't know...” my eyes filled with tears suddenly. “I'm not used to this.” I said.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on my arms.I sat up and he hugged me. “Come here,” he said. “I know you're not. It's going to take some time. And you can't take responsibility for everything the boys do. You're not going to have responsibility for them like you did.”

“Why not?” I asked, sniffing my tears back. 

“Because I want you to experience being a kid, not someone who is taking care of everyone else. We already talked about this some. You need to be just part of the family for a while.” 

“Okay, I guess.” I sighed. “It will be weird.” 

“You'll get used to it.” he told me. “You'll have a chance to just be a kid instead of a care-taker.” he brushed my hair off of my face and kissed my forehead. “Get some sleep.”

“Good night, Dad.” 

 

The next morning at breakfast, Dad told us to get dressed after we ate because we were going out. 

“Aw, do we have to go out shopping or something?” Dean complained. “I hate shopping!” 

“No, although we will have to do that in a couple of weeks,” Dad said. “I've rented a house about three blocks from here, and I wanted to show it to you.”

Sam sat up straight. “Where we're gonna live? Are we going to school here too?”

“Yes,” Dad nodded. “We'll go over and look at the house and see what needs to be done. It's partially furnished, so hopefully we won't need to get much.”

Pastor Jim came into the room. “When we get back, I'd like to spend some time talking with you, Kate, if that's all right.”

I looked up at him. “Okay,” I said slowly. I wasn't sure I was in the mood to dredge up a bunch of unhappy feelings or look at my past right now. 

“We can go slow,” he put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. “You're in control of what we talk about, all right?” 

I smiled up at him. 

 

The house was a one-story ranch house in a quiet neighborhood. It had a living room, a dining room, and a large kitchen at the back with a laundry room next to it. There was a hallway off of the living room where the bedrooms were. At the front of the house was a large bedroom with two single beds in it that ran practically the length of the whole front of the house.

“This used to be two smaller bedrooms, but the people that lived here before took the middle wall down,” Pastor Jim told us. 

“It's big enough that if we put up a divider, it would be almost like you boys had your own room.” Dad said.

“Can we do that, Dad?” Dean looked at him.

“Probably,” Dad told him.

There was a smaller bedroom on the other side of the hall, that faced the back of the house, and the bathroom was next to it.

“I'm sorry this is such a small room,” Dad said apologetically. “I know your other room was much bigger.” 

“I don't care,” I said. My parent's house had been large and showy, just like everything about them. It had never felt like a home, just a place I was living in, because it had to be kept spotless, and I hadn't had a hand in decorating my room or anything. My mother had had designers come into the house and decide on all the decorating and color schemes. And there were tons of expensive knick knacks and objets d'art that could get broken if you didn't pay attention. 

There was a large master bedroom at the end of the hall with another bathroom in it. Dad and Pastor Jim walked through the house, making notes on what furniture was in the house and what furniture would be needed. The boys and I went through the kitchen to the back yard. There were a couple of tall trees, one next to the house, and one further back towards the fence. There were houses on either side of us and also behind us. Someone had planted a little flower bed off to the side up against the fence, but it was empty of any flowers at the moment. 

“This is a cool back yard,” Sam said.

“Yeah, it's big enough to play some ball in.” Dean said. “Hey Kate, are you gonna try to do anything with baseball?”

I shrugged. “I don't know,” I said. “It probably was just a fluke that I was able to hit the ball so well.”

“That's not what Jake said, 'member?” Dean asked me. “He said you had a good eye.”

“Maybe.” I shrugged again.

“Come back inside now,” Dad called from the kitchen door. We went back into the house. 

“Do any of you care what kind of furniture we get for your rooms? It's going to be used, but I didn't know if you wanted anything specific.” Dad said, looking at me.  
“Can you get some stuff with dinosaurs on it for me?” Sam asked.

Pastor Jim chuckled. “I don't really think anyone makes furniture with dinosaurs on it.” he told Sam.

I got the feeling that Dad was asking me what I wanted. 

“I don't need girly furniture, if that's what you're asking,” I said. “I don't mind whatever you get.”

“Well, if we happen to find any 'girly furniture', are you going to object if we get it for you?” Dad asked. 

“No. I'll take whatever.” I shrugged. 

“All right.” Dad said. “We can paint the walls if you'd like. What color do you want your rooms to be?” 

“Cool!” Dean said. “I want black and silver!” 

“I want it to be green like a jungle or dark blue like the night sky, with stars in it.” Sam said. 

“No, black!” Dean said.

“We're not doing either of those,” Dad said with a chuckle. “Dark colors are out.” 

“Aww, why?” Sam asked.

“Because they make the room look smaller. If you want we can get a dark color for the trim, all right?”

We drove to a hardware supply store, and looked at paint colors. The boys began to bicker about whether to have blue or green. Sam still wanted to have the room look like a jungle. 

“What if Sam paints the wall on his side green, and Dean paints the wall of his side blue?” I suggested. Two of the walls for each boy.” 

“That might work,” Pastor Jim said. “What do you think, John?”

“That sounds fine,” Dad said distractedly. “What about you, Kate?”

I shrugged again. “Whatever is fine with me.If you want to go with white, that's okay.”

Dad came over to me and looked me in the eyes. “No, Kate,” he said insistently. “What do you want. This is about you. Think about it, and pick something that would make you happy.” 

“I—I don't know.” I said. “I'm not used to-- to doing stuff like this.” 

“Do you have a favorite color?” he asked.

“Well, that periwinkle color, it's almost like a lavender-blue color. You know the crayon?”

“ I don't think I do,” Dad said. “Let's go look at the purples then.” 

Just then Sam and Dean started bickering and shoving each other, and Dad had to step between them and talk to them. 

He bent down and looked at them. “I know this is boring for you, but we need to do this today. This is part of getting the house prepared so we can move in, and the sooner we do it, the better. Now, we're going to go get your paint in a minute, but you need to be patient and wait. And if you can't, if this keeps up between you two, then I will take you out to the car, and we will wait there, and the two of you will be waiting with sore behinds. Is that what you want?”

“No sir,” they chorused. 

“I can take Kate to look at the paint if you want to get the boy's paints started mixing,” Pastor Jim said.

“All right,” Dad said. “Go ahead.” 

I followed Pastor Jim over to another aisle. He looked at me. “John's kind of excited about getting your room fixed up,” he told me. “That's why he's being so insistent.” 

“Why?” I asked.

“Well...he and Mary had wanted to have a girl as well, but...she passed before that came to be. So he feels like he's been given a second chance with you, and it makes him excited.” 

“Oh. So I should be more into it then.”

“Well, you don't have to be,” Pastor Jim said. “It doesn't seem to have been your thing.”

“It's just that everything was already done, I didn't get to pick anything out. My mother did everything with designers, and they arranged the house and rooms and all.” 

“I see. Well, Kate, that's all the more reason you should pick this out, for yourself. This is your chance to have what you really want, for the first time.” 

“Oh, right. I didn't think about it like that.” I smiled at him. We looked at the paint samples for a while until I found a couple that I liked. 

Dad walked over to us pushing a cart with some paint cans and painting supplies in it. 

“Did you find something?” he asked.

“I like these two.” I showed him the sample strips.

“The one that is more blue is a nice color, I like that one.” he said.

“They're both girly,” Sam said grumpily.

“Well, it's for a girls' room, duh!” Dean said, and shoved Sam.

“Quit it!” Sam shoved him back.

“Boys,” Dad said. “What did I say? One more time, and we will go out to the car. Is that clear?” 

“Yes, sir.” Both boys sounded sulky.

“Dean, over here by me. Sam, walk over on the other side of Pastor Jim.” 

Sam sighed heavily, as if it was the worst thing in the world, and trudged over next to me. 

“I think after we get Kate's paints mixed, we should get some lunch,” Pastor Jim said. “I think that's where part of this crankiness is coming from.”

“All right.” Dad agreed. “Boys, think about where you want to eat. You too, Kate,” he looked at me and smiled. 

We walked over to the paint counter, and Dad showed the paint sample to the man behind the counter. He and Pastor Jim talked to the man for a few minutes.   
Dad turned to us. “You three stay right here,” he said. “We'll be back in a minute.” The man came out from behind the counter, and he led Dad and Pastor Jim down an aisle a few feet away. 

“Where do you guys want to eat?” I asked. When I didn't get an answer, I turned.

The boys were halfway down the center aisle, running and shoving each other and laughing.

I started to walk towards them. “Sam! Dean! Come over here!” I called. “Dad's going to be upse--”

When they heard my voice, both boys turned. Dean had ahold of Sam's arms, and he swung Sam around fast, right into a cart that was being pushed by a woman with curlers in her hair. 

“Hey!” she said with surprise. Her cart got shoved over to the side, right into a metal cart that had little bins full of different sized pieces of metal in them- door hinges, large screws, and keys and the like. The sounds of all the metal bits falling to the floor was almost deafening. The metal cart hit the floor with a loud clang.

Sam and Dean stood there gaping, with shocked looks on their faces. I stared back at them. “Boys-” I gasped. 

I walked up to the woman quickly. “I'm so sorry, ma'am, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I ain't hurt, but who's gonna clean this mess up?” she scowled, gesturing at the metal scattered all over the floor. 

A man wearing an orange shirt with the store logo on it came over. “I need cleanup at the end of aisle 9,” he drawled into a walkie-talkie. “Metal pieces, small. Broom and dustpan'll be okay.” 

“BOYS!” Dad shouted, and I jumped at the same time I saw Sam and Dean jump.

Dad came stomping over to us. “What in the almighty--”

“Oh, they yours?” the woman asked. “You need to keep your kids on a tighter leash, mister.” 

“Thank you for your advice, ma'am.” Dad retorted. He turned to the store clerk. “I'm so sorry. Can my sons clean this up for you?”

He shook his head. “Nah, can't allow it in case they get hurt. Someone's coming from the back to get this.” 

Dad stalked over to Sam and Dean and grabbed the backs of their collars, pulling them away from each other so that they were on either side of him. 

“At this point, I don't even want to hear your explanation, because I'm sure that there isn't a good one.” 

He turned to Pastor Jim, who had come over to stand beside me. “We'll be in the car...waiting.” Dad said tightly. 

“All right. John, count to twenty.” Pastor Jim said mildly. “Count to thirty if you need to.” 

“Hmph.” Dad said. “Let's go, boys.” He turned, and they walked out of the store in a hurry, with the boys still scruffed. 

I looked at Pastor Jim. “I—I didn't know--” I stumbled over my words. “I turned around, and they were gone!” 

Pastor Jim chuckled. “Life with boys, Kate. You're going to have to get used to it sooner or later.” He shook his head as we walked back to our cart. “They remind me so much of me and my brothers, and the shenanigans we used to get up to.” 

“How many brothers did you have?” I asked.

“Six,” he said. 

“Oh my goodness,” I said. “Seven boys?”

“Yes, seven boys, all very similar to Sam and Dean. After the fourth child was born, my father went out to his workshop and made a paddle, because he said he was tired of hurting his hand, and everyone got the paddle from then on out.” He shook his head. “It got a lot of use over the years.” 

“Yikes,” I said. 

He picked up the cans of paint that were on the counter and put them in the cart.“I think we're ready,” he said. We walked to the checkout line, and he paid for everything. 

When we walked outside the store, the Impala was parked by the curb. Dad got out of the car and helped Pastor Jim load everything into the trunk. “I think it's best if we go home,” he told us. “The boys decided to give me lip during our...discussion, so now they're going to be spending some time in their room.”

“That's fine, we've still got some lunch meat at home,” Pastor Jim said. 

I got into the back seat and looked over at Sam and Dean. They were both sitting with one leg tucked under their bottoms, and they both had red sulky faces and wet eyes. 

Dad got into the car and turned around. “Boys, sit on your butts and get buckled.”

“But Dad--” Dean began.

“I told you, you can't buckle the seatbelt properly if you're sitting with your leg up like that! Now sit right and buckle up.”

Sam glared at Dad, huffed, and crossed his arms. 

“Do I need to count, Samuel?” Dad asked in a tight voice. “One...”

Sam sighed, and both boys moved their legs and then buckled their seat belts. Sam crossed his arms again and turned his head to look out the window. 

Dad and Pastor Jim talked about scheduling for tomorrow. 

“We're going to be working on the house for the next couple of days,” Dad told us. 

“Pastor Jim has signed you three up for Vacation Bible School this week.”

“What's that?” I asked.

“It's like a summer camp, over at the church,” Pastor Jim turned to look at me. “It will give you three a chance to meet some of the local kids.” 

“Don't wanna go to church,” Sam grumbled under his breath.

“It's not just church,” Pastor Jim told him. “It's going to be about making friends and learning about the community.” 

“Okay,” I said. “It starts tomorrow?"

“Yes, I'll take you three over in the morning, and then when it's over in the afternoon, you can walk back to the house and Rosemary will be there. There might be a day when she has to be at church in the afternoon, but we'll figure that out.” 

I started to get nervous. Even though we didn't have the paperwork back yet, this would be my first time meeting people as a Winchester. It was going to be very different.


	26. Chapter 26

“Kaitlin Winchester?” said a woman. She handed me a name tag sticker and a pen. “Do you prefer Kaitlin, or Katie?”

“Kate, actually,” I said shyly. 

“Okay then,” she smiled briefly and turned away. “Luke, Eli, get over here and put your name tags on!” she called to two teenage boys who were throwing balled- up paper into a trash can in the corner. 

“Aww, come on, Bella, everyone already knows who we are!” One of the boys came ambling over to her. He was tall and thin, all lanky limbs and shaggy hair that hung in his eyes. He looked at me.

“Hey,” he said, “Name's Luke. I'm a PK.”

“What's a PK?” I asked him.

“Pastor's kid. My dad's the youth pastor here. You're new.” 

I cleared my throat nervously. “Yeah,” I said. We hadn't had a chance to discuss any of my history or decided what we were going to tell anyone. 

He raised his eyebrow at me. “Well, are ya gonna tell me about yourself?”

“Geez, Luke, way to put a girl on the spot! Leave her alone, willya?”

A tall, thin, girl with a blonde ponytail came over to us and shoved his shoulder.

“Be quiet, Ray!” he retorted, but his voice was good-natured.

She looked at me and rolled her eyes. “That's my brother. One of them. I'm Rachel.” 

The other boy who had been over by the trashcans came up behind her and pulled on her ponytail.

“Ouch!” she turned her head and glared at the boy, who grinned at her. 

“Or should I say, my bother! I have two bothers, and that's two too many!” 

“Hands to yourselves, you three,” Bella said. “Do I need to send you to the preschool class? Come on now.”

I wrote my name on the name tag and stuck it onto my chest. Rachel took the pen from me and picked up a sticker, then wrote her name on it. 

“Get your nametags on and let's come sit down,” Bella called.

I walked over to the table that she gestured to and sat down, watching the other kids as they milled around and then came to sit down. 

Finally everyone was sitting at the table. Bella told us to introduce ourselves and tell us something about ourselves. I was apprehensive; I didn't know what to say. 

Luke had written “Mr. Skywalker” on his nametag and was fiddling with one of the pens. 

“My name's Luke, and I have two siblings, Eli over there and Rachel. I'll let you figure out which one's the real pain in my--”

“Luke,” Bella said warningly. 

“My name is Carrie, and I'm going into 9th grade in a couple weeks, and I so don't want to be in a new school,” said the girl next to me. She had long curly brown hair and a sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose.

Everyone turned to look at me.

“Uh, my name is Kate,” I said. “We just moved here recently...we're staying with Pastor Jim right now.” 

“Why'd you move?” One of the boys asked. “Are you in, like, the witness protection program or something?”

Everyone stared at me as my mouth went dry. I didn't know what to say. “Uh, I--”

“Josh, you watch too many crime shows!” Rachel piped up, rolling her eyes again. “Next you're gonna be asking the poor kid if her family's in the mob!” 

“Well, I think it's important to know these things!” Josh grinned, and I realized he had been teasing me.

“No one here is in the mob or witness protection,” Bella said, shaking her head. “Let's move on.”

The name tag of the boy sitting next to me said, “I73”.

“I'm Eli,” he said, “and that lunatic over there is my brother,” he pointed at Luke. “I like computers.”

I realized he had written his name, Eli, and then put his nametag on upside down.

Luke coughed, “computer nerd,” he said as he coughed, and everyone laughed. 

There was a handful of other kids, but I couldn't remember everyone's names. Most of them lived here and went to the church, there was one girl who was here visiting relatives for the summer, and a boy who was here visiting his father. He told us he lived in the next town over and that his parents had joint custody, so he'd be here every other weekend. 

Bella passed out a packet of papers and told us to look it over. On each page there was a short Bible passage and quote.

“We're going to be learning about the stories in the Bible that talk about ways that people helped each other,” she said. “So that you all can learn about how to be good helpers to your community.”

“You mean, so we can be free labor,” Luke said under his breath. “My Dad told me we might have to do a bunch of work at the end to fix up the church.”

“No, not a bunch of work,” Bella said. “Just a couple of things, and it would be to be a team-building exercise for you all.”

“Ooh, team-building,” Luke said sarcastically.

“So much cynicism in someone so young,” Josh intoned in a deep voice.

“All right,” Bella said crisply. “There's also going to be Bible Jeopardy at the end of VBS and we're going to be playing against the other classes. Do we need to bone up on our Bible ver--”

“ 'Bone up' !” Josh said with a laugh, and the other boys hid their faces and laughed too.

“Oh my gosh, I cannot believe you just went there!” Luke muttered.

“Really? Really?” Rachel said, shoving Luke's shoulder. “Bella, can we have a class with just the girls, so we don't have to keep dealing with these-- these-- morons!” 

“Who you callin' a maroon?” Luke looked up and pulled on Rachel's pony tail.

“OW! Hands off, twerp! Or I'm telling Dad!” Rachel scowled at Luke.

“I'm tellin' Dad!” Luke mimicked in a high pitched voice. 

“All right, you two, knock it off!” Bella said. She looked at me. “We're scaring Kate over here.”

Everyone turned and looked at me. I felt myself blushing. 

“Sorry, Kate,” Rachel said. “Sorry you have to deal with these maniacs.”

“Oh, it's fine,” I stammered. 

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Bella asked me.

“Um, I have, um, two younger brothers,” I replied.

“Oh, so you know how it is.” Rachel said, nodding. “Are they little?”

“Six and ten,” I said. 

“Aww, I'll bet they're cute.” Rachel turned to Luke, cocking an eyebrow at him. “They don't start getting really obnoxious until they get older.” 

“Maniac? Obnoxious?” Luke huffed melodramatically. “Are you hearing this?” he asked Bella. “I have to live with this constant disparagement of my personality--” 

“Oh, Luke, zip it,” Bella rolled her eyes. 

Everyone laughed, and then there was a knock on the door. An older woman pushed a tall wheeled tray into the room. “Snack time!” she called. “Oh, I didn't know it was teens in this room. I guess y'all might need more than a little package of crackers each.”

“Uh, yeah, we've got growing teens in here, we're always hungry,” Luke said. 

The woman laughed and shook her head. “All right, Luke, settle down. I'll go see what else we have.” She placed a tray on the table and then wheeled the cart back out. There was a pitcher of lemonade, a stack of paper cups, and a basket of small bags of tiny crackers. 

“I'll have to remind them that you all eat a lot more than the younger kids.” Bella said.

After we ate, we cleaned up the wrappers and cups, and then walked out to a large common area where all the other kids were sitting. There was a large screen set up at the front, and a cartoon started playing that was about the Bible story of the Good Samaritan. 

“Kate!” I heard someone hissing, “Kate!” 

I turned my head and looked around. Sam was sitting towards the front, on the floor, with a group of kids his age. He had turned around and was waving at me. I waved back at him and he gave me a big grin. 

After the video was over, they played a couple of songs and started to try and teach all the kids hand motions to go with the songs. The younger kids were restless by then, and the kids I was sitting with certainly weren't going to do hand motions to a song that sounded like it was sung by little kids. 

Adults started to walk over to us, and then take kids out of the area. I realized that it must be over and kids were being picked up. I wasn't sure what to do, and then I saw Rosemary walking over. 

“I'm taking this one,” she said to Bella, putting her hand on my shoulder. 

“All right, bye, Kate. Hope we didn't scare you too much. See you tomorrow.”

I followed Rosemary over to the other groups of kids while she picked up Sam and Dean. Sam ran over to me and threw his arms around me.

“I missed you!” He said. Dean didn't say anything, but as we walked across the parking lot, both boys took my hands.

“Can we play on the playground?” Sam asked.

“No today,” Rosemary said. “I've got stuff to do. Maybe tomorrow we can, afterwards. I'm going to talk to the leaders and let them know that for the rest of the week, y'all can leave together and walk over to Jim's on your own, all right? You want to do that instead of waiting for me to come and pick you up?”

“Sure,” I agreed.

“You make sure that the three of you leave together, though, you hear me?” she looked at us sternly. 

Dad and Pastor Jim came back right before dinner, covered in paint flecks, with dust and cobwebs in their hair. 

“We're getting things done, slowly but slowly,” Pastor Jim told us at the dinner table. “How was it today?”

“Interesting,” I said. “Some of those kids are...energetic.”

“You mean Luke and Eli?” Rosemary laughed and shook her head. “That Luke is a pistol.”

“He is something else,” Pastor Jim said. “They're good kids though.”

“I didn't like it,” Sam grumbled.

“Why not?” Pastor Jim asked him.

Sam glanced at all of us. “ 'Cause I'd rather just be with Dean and Kate.”

“Well, like I said, it's a chance to meet some of the other kids-” 

“I don't wanna meet other kids!” Sam interrupted Pastor Jim, throwing his fork down on the table. He scowled down at his plate. 

“Sam!” Dad snapped. “Don't be rude!” 

Sam looked at Dad, his face red and angry. “We haven't barely gotten to do anything we want since we came here! All we do is stuff that grownups tell us to! It's not fair!” He slid his chair back abruptly, ran out of the room and then we heard his footsteps pounding up the stairs. 

Dad looked at Pastor Jim. “I wonder what that's about.” he said.

“I'll go talk to him,” Dean said. He looked at Dad. “Can I?”

Dad sighed. “Sure, Dean, go ahead.” 

Dean got up and we heard him walking up the stairs. 

Dad rubbed his face; he looked tired. 

“Uh, we never-- I mean, I don't want to bother you, but...we never really decided on what to tell people about me and...I'm not sure what to say. They were asking me questions today and I didn't know what to tell them.” I looked at Dad and Pastor Jim.

“You're right, Kate, I'm sorry,” Pastor Jim said. “ How about the three of us look over your paperwork and decide on some things.”

“Okay,” I said hesitantly.

“Y'all go ahead and get started on that, I'll clean up here,” Rosemary told us.

All three of us stood up and walked to Pastor Jim's study. He and Dad walked around the desk and Pastor Jim shuffled through some large envelopes and papers.   
Dad looked at me across the desk. “I don't want to bring attention to you, or to us, but here's what we've come up with for your ...story, as it were. I'm your birth father, but you didn't know me before. Your mother and stepfather died in a tragic accident recently, and you've come to live with me since I'm your closest surviving relative. That will explain why there isn't a history with us, and why you're not used to having brothers and all that.” 

“Oh,” I said, blinking win surprise. “Okay.”

“How do you think that sounds?” Pastor Jim asked.

“Uh, okay, I guess.” I said. “What do I say if people ask about my parents, like how they died?”

“People shouldn't ask that,” he said. “If they do, just tell them you don't want to talk about it.”

“What about if they ask why I didn't know you before?” I looked at Dad.

“We can say that she didn't tell me about you, if you want. What do you think?”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “That's totally something she would do, too.” 

“All right, good. That saves us the stress of having to come up with a whole history and remember everything that we've thought up.” 

Dad showed me some official looking papers. “These are your school transcripts,” he said. “I have a friend who does this sort of thing on his computer, he's made some up for the boys before. I had him make them up for a couple towns over from where we were livng, that way you were still in the area and you can talk about it if people ask.”

“I didn't think it would be this involved.” I said.

“We're trying to make the transition as smooth as possible for you.” Pastor Jim smiled at me. 

 

 

The next day was more of the same with the teens. Luke, Josh, and Eli had everyone laughing from their mouthy comments. We tried to play a game of Bible Jeopardy, which I failed at, because I didn't know the Bible at all. All the kids gathered at the end and the songs were played first, to try and keep everyone's attention. The younger kids got into it this time, standing up and doing the hand motions. Then everyone sat down and watched another cartoon about two sisters who had helped Jesus in the Bible. 

When it was over, Bella said to me, “Rosemary told me that you have permission to take your brothers and walk over to Pastor Jim's, without waiting for an adult.”

“Okay, great,” I said. I got up and walked over to the group of kids that Sam was sitting with, and he jumped up and threw his arms around my waist. He clung to me as we walked over to get Dean. As we started to walk away, someone called my name.

Bella gestured to me to come back to her, so we walked over.

“Here's a Bible to study for the jeopardy game,” she said. “I marked off which chapters they're going to be using.”

“Okay, thanks.” I said.

“Is that your little brother?” Rachel came over and looked at Sam. “Oh, he's so cute!” she smiled at him. He blushed.

“Yeah, they're both pretty cute,” I told her. 

As the three of us walked across the parking lot, Sam said, “Let's go play on the playground!” 

“We're supposed to go right to Pastor Jim's,” I reminded him. “We can ask if we can go later, maybe after dinner Dad can take us.”

Sam lowered his head. “O-kay,” he said glumly. “I don't like it here as much, I miss how we could go run around the neighborhood where we used to live. 'Member how we could go to the Circle any time we wanted?”

“Yeah, but...we'd been there for a while, and knew everyone. We're still kinda new here.” I told him.

“I guess,” Sam said, still glum. “I just wanna do what I want.”

 

When we got to the church the next morning, it was uncomfortably warm in the building. Bella left the room to go talk to someone. 

“Let's go to the supply closet and see if we can get out some of the little kids' games,” Luke said with a mischievous grin. “I haven't done a hula hoop in years.”

“We're supposed to stay here,” Rachel said.

“Come on, you know you want to play with the felt board bible stories!” he said to her. “Don't you want to make all the animals fall off of the ark and drown?”

“No, that would be you, you weirdo,” she said, pushing him. “Go away.” 

“C'mon,” Luke said again, looking at the rest of us. “Anyone wanna go with me? Josh? Kate?”

I shook my head. 

“Bella will be back in a minute,” Rachel said. “Geez it's stuffy in here.” She fanned herself with a thin book. 

The door opened, and Bella came in with a clipboard. “All right, change of plans,” she said. “The A/C has decided to bite the dust. It's way too stuffy in here, and there aren't enough fans to properly cool down the whole church, so we're going to go outside today. Wait--” she said loudly, as the boys began to whoop. “That doesn't mean run around like a bunch of crazy people. I want you to stay in the designated area. And we might need some of you to help out with keeping the younger kids occupied. You boys want to try and get a baseball game started? I think we've also got a badminton net somewhere.” 

We followed Bella outside, across the parking lot, to where there was a huge hill and a field. There were groups of kids sitting down in the grass, and a group over on the playground. Bella went over and talked to a couple of the other adults that were standing outside. Two of them went back into the building, and Bella came back over to us. 

“We're also going to keep bringing drinks out here, it's supposed to be pretty hot,” she said. “I'll need some of you to help me bring things out later.”   
One of the women was talking to the groups of younger kids and it sounded like she was asking them questions. I saw Dean sitting down and caught his eye and waved at him. He waved back with a shy look on his face. 

Several of the younger kids stood up and walked over to us. A woman came over behind them. “Luke, these are the kids who are interested in playing ball. I'm leaving you in charge...try not to have any catastrophes happen this time.”

“I'm on it, Mrs. P.,” Luke said with a grin. “We'll be fine.” 

Luke turned to the group of kids. “So, hey, we'll go over to the big flat area over there,” he said. 

Dean walked over to me. “You gonna play, Kate?”

“I don't know,” I said. “I figured I'd just watch for now. Bella said that she would need help later with stuff.”

“My sister's really good at hitting homers,” Dean piped up. 

Luke turned around and looked at him. “And you are...?”

“Dean,” he said, and then pointed at me. “She's my sister, and she's really good at hitting the ball.”

Luke's eyebrow went up. “Oh really?” he asked. “Hm, it's the quiet ones you've gotta watch out for. Well, come on, Kate.” 

I followed the group over to the field, and one of the adults brought over a large duffle bag filled with baseball bats, mitts, balls, and the canvas bases. A couple of the boys ran around measuring out the field and putting down the bases.

Luke came over to me and handed me a bat.

“Okay, show me,” he said.

“Uh-” I felt myself blushing. 

“Come on, don't chicken out now. Your brother said you're good, and he looks like a kid who knows what he's talking about.”

“I only did it one other time,” I said. 

He shook the bat at me. “Take it,” he said. “Worst case, you can't hit anything, and we stick you in the outfield to catch fly balls,” he grinned at me. “C'mon, over here.” He walked me over to the home plate and I picked the bat up and held it like I remembered.

“Okay, Josh,” Luke called.

Just like before, the ball came at me, I swung the bat, it connected, and flew all the way over everyone's heads, into the woods. 

Everyone's mouths dropped open at the same time.

“Dibs on Kate!” Luke called. “She's on my team, forever and always, amen!”

“See, I told you,” I heard Dean say behind me. I turned to him and he was grinning at me.

 

A couple of hours later, I was hot and sweaty, but I was having a lot of fun. I had managed to hit a home run every time I swung, and the team I was on was winning. We had taken a short break a while ago, to get a drink of water, and I had chugged the cup that Bella had handed me and run back out to the field. I felt excited- for the first time in my life I was good at something, and it had nothing to do with what my parents wanted, or expected, and they had had no control over picking this for me. I had come to this all on my own. 

“All, right, finish up! Parents are here for pickup!” One of the adults called over to us. 

I looked over and saw several adults grouped over to the side, watching us play. As I walked over, I noticed Dad and Pastor Jim in the group.

“Kate, watching you- you're amazing!” Dad said, smiling so big that his dimples showed. 

I felt myself blushing, and looked down at the ground. 

“The middle school has a baseball team, and there's also a teen baseball league in the area too,” Pastor Jim told us. “We need to get you to try out for one of them.” 

“Thanks,” I said. 

Dean came over to us. “Isn't Kate good!” he said, beaming up at me.

“She really is,” Dad agreed. He put his hand on my back as we walked over to the playground. “I'll find out information about tryouts and everything for you, all right?”

“Okay, I guess,” I said. Now I felt uncertain about it- in the past, my mother had signed me up for everything and my father's name and position had been enough to get me in to whatever they had wanted me to do. This time, I'd be trying to join something based on my own merit. I wasn't sure I could do it.

Dad looked at me. “Don't get all shy, you'll do great,” he said. “Hey, Sammy!” 

Sam ran up to him and he picked Sam up and swung him up in his arms like he used to when we were living in the other neighborhood.

“What are you doing here, Dad?” Sam asked.

“Well, Pastor Jim was needed here to deal with getting the air conditioning fixed, and a couple of the guys who are helping at our new house had to come over too, so I came with them.” Dad told him as we walked back over to Pastor Jim's house. 

“When can we move in?” Dean asked.

“Probably at the end of the week,” Dad said. “Barring anything else happening that needs our attention for the day.” 

We walked into the house, and Rosemary looked at us. “Did they get the A/C fixed?” she asked. “Y'all are gonna need baths tonight, the sweat is just pouring' off of you!” 

“They were outside playing,” Pastor Jim said. “Kate here is our new baseball star.” 

“Oh really?” Rosemary smiled at me. “That's great!” 

 

 

The next day when I walked into the church class room, Luke called out, “Hey, Home Run!” 

“Uh, hi,” I said, blushing. He walked over to me. 

“Listen, when school starts, I'll put it a good word with the girls' baseball coach for ya.” he looked at me proudly. “Not only am I a PK, I'm a star athlete too- I play basketball, baseball, and cross-country!” He turned up his collar and swaggered a couple of steps away from me, then turned back to me with a grin. 

Him saying he was a star athlete made me remember the boy who had been at the fancy dinner with my parents, and how he had felt me up and tried to kiss me. That had also been the night that my father had hit me in the mouth. The fear that I had felt back then came back to me, and the shame I had felt when I had gone to the Winchester's house the next day.

“What's wrong, Kate?” Luke came back over to me quickly. “You look like-- like you've just seen a ghost!”

“Nothing,” I said, trying to smile. “I, uh, need to go to the rest room.”   
I walked quickly to the door and found the rest rooms, then walked into a stall and leaned my head against to cool metal wall. I took deep breaths and tried not to cry. In a couple of minutes I was calm again.

When I came back out into the hallway, I heard voices. An older woman was leading a couple of kids into the kitchen where they stored the snacks. I saw that Sam was one of them. His face lit up when he saw me, and he ran over to me and threw his arms around me.

“This is my big sister, Kate!” he told them proudly. He turned his face up to me. “I get to help bring the snacks to everyone today!” he frowned. “What's wrong?

“Nothing, I'm fine,” I said, trying to blink the tears away that had come to my eyes. 

He hugged me tighter. “I'll get to bring some to you too!” he told me happily. “So I'll get to see you again!”

“Come on, Sam,” the woman said. 

Sam let me go. “See ya later!” he called. 

“Bye, Sam,” I called back as I walked back to the classroom. Him hugging me made me feel good. Somehow he was able to read my moods really well. 

I walked back into the classroom. 

Luke looked over at me as I walked in. “You okay?” he asked.

“I'm fine,” I said. 

“We were talking about getting a group together to start practicing baseball before school starts,” Josh told me. “You in, Kate?”

“Sure, I guess I'll give it a try,” I shrugged.

“You guess? You better be there! If not I'm going to come to your house and bug you until you join. You're too good to not join up.” Luke said to me.

Bella came over to the table. “What's going on?”

“We discovered that Kate here is a secret weapon,” Luke told her. “She's the Queen of Home Runs.”

Bella looked at me assessingly. “Really? That's wonderful, Kate. Were you involved in sports before?”

I shifted uncomfortably. “Uh, no, I wasn't,” I said. “I did other stuff like dance and music lessons when I was younger.” 

“Oh,” she nodded. “Well, it's always good to find out what other gifts you have.” She turned to everyone. “Let's talk about today's story,” she said.

I had a hard time paying attention. I thought about joining baseball. It would be a whole new group of people, people I didn't know. When I had been in school before, I mostly kept my head down and just did my work and got good grades. My father's status in the community made me seem a little bit “above” everyone else and most people went out of their way to avoid me. Because I was shy and didn't talk much, and because of my father being a politician, a lot of people assumed I was a snob, so they wouldn't talk to me either. I spent a lot of time by myself, which I didn't mind, because I read my books and did my baking. Until I had met the Winchesters, and then my whole world had changed. Now I could be who ever I wanted to be, without worrying how it would affect my father's reputation or standing in the community. There was no one to judge me or my family any more, the way they had before. It would be completely different now if I wanted it to be. 

When I went to pick up Sam, his group was outside on the playground. I got Dean from his group, and we walked over to where Sam was.

“Let's stay here for a while!” Sam called to me. “Pleeeease? I'm playing a game with Johnny and Eric!” 

“Okay,” I said. “For a couple minutes.” 

Dean walked over to a couple of kids and started to talk to them. I sat on a bench and watched as parents drifted over to pick up their kids. Then I went over and got on one of the swings, and swung for a while. Soon, it was just me and the boys on the playground. I was relaxed, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my face as I swung, when I heard, “BOYS AND KATE!”

I opened my eyes and turned my head. Dad and Pastor Jim stood on the edge of the playground, hands on their hips. 

“Get over here!” Dad hollered, pointing at the ground in front of him. Dean and Sam and I ran over and stood before them. Their faces wore the same identical angry expression. 

“What are you supposed to do every day?” Dad asked tightly.

“Uh, go home after VBS.” I said.

“Uh-huh, and did you?”

“Uh...no.” I shuffled my feet and stared at the ground.

“Whose idea was this?” Dad asked, looking at each one of us in turn. “Or did all three of you decide together?”

I glanced at the boys. 

“We, uh, didn't really decide, we just ended up staying here,” Dean said. 

“Well, now all three of you have ended up in trouble.” Dad said. ”Get back to the house.”

He pointed. We walked in a line, Sam first, then Dean, then me, and as each of us walked by him, he swatted our butts. 

We walked through the back yard and into the kitchen.

“You three need to apologize to Rosemary,” Pastor Jim said in a stern voice. “She was expecting you home 35 minutes ago, and when you didn't come back she called me in a panic.”

Rosemary turned to look at us, and her face was upset. Her mouth was in a tight line. I immediately felt guilty. 

“Um, I'm sorry, Rosemary,” I said. Sam and Dean chimed in with “I'm sorry” too. 

Dean turned and started to walk out of the kitchen.

“Young man, where do you think you're going?” Dad ground out. He pointed in front of him again. “Right here,” he said, “All three of you.” 

Sam and I walked over and stood next to Dean, in a line in front of Dad. I had to fight the urge to cover my bottom with my hands. 

“What were the three of you thinking, to not come straight home, right after we had to send a search party into the woods to find you a few days ago?” Dad said, and his voice was loud and angry. 

“Sorry Dad,” I said, and tears came to my eyes. 

“Boys?” Dad looked at them. “Anything you have to say?”

Sam and Dean looked at the floor and shuffled their feet, not saying anything. 

Dad waited a moment. Then he said, “Well, if no one has anything to say, then I'm going to assume that you three did this on purpose and you just didn't care what the consequences were.”

I looked at him. “No, we didn't do it on purpose!” I told him. “We just...we weren't thinking about...what happened before, or that anyone would get upset.”

“You just did what you wanted, on the spur of the moment,” Pastor Jim said. 

I looked down at the floor, feeling ashamed. “Yes sir,” I whispered.

Dad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. “I'm going to have to rethink letting you three go outside on your own now. It seems that I can't even trust you to follow instructions on walking from the church to Pastor Jim's house!” 

“You can, Dad!” Dean protested. “You can trust us!”

“No, I can't. I don't know what's going on with the three of you, but this is going to stop. You can't keep acting like the rules don't apply here. Go to your rooms and I'll be up to deal with you shortly.”

We trudged up to our rooms. I sat down at the head of my bed, hugging my pillow to me and trying not to cry. I don't know why I hadn't been thinking, and I didn't like that I had upset Rosemary, or Pastor Jim, or Dad. I felt guilty, because I was supposed to be the one taking care of the boys, I was the one who was supposed to be keeping them safe, and making the decisions about things like this. Why hadn't I insisted that we go straight back? 

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and tensed. I heard a door down the hall open and close, and then a few minutes later, muffled crying. I swallowed nervously, and my stomach got butterflies in it. I guess this was what it's like when you get in trouble in a family. 

There was a knock on the door and then it opened, and Dad came in. I started to cry right away.

“I'm sorry, Dad!” I said again. “I shouldn't have let the boys stay there, I should have said we needed to go, it was my job-- what are you doing?” I asked, noticing that he was shaking his hand. 

“Spanking isn't just hard on the kid's butt, Kate, it's also hard on the parent's hand,” he said, grimacing a little. “If the three of you keep this up, getting in trouble together, I may need to look at something else to do the spanking with, in order to save my hand.” 

“Something else?” I squeaked nervously, remembering him telling me about his grandfather and the switch.

“Yes, like a hair brush or something,” he said.

“Um, well, you don't have to spank me,” I told him. “I know we did the wrong thing, and I know it's my responsibility and I messed up, and I'll make sure we don't do it again.” I looked up at him, and he laughed. 

“What?” I asked, confused.

“You're trying to convince me not to punish you... you have the same look on your face that Sam gets when he tries to talk me out of a spanking. Kate, this was all three of you. None of you thought this through, just like none of you thought through running off into the woods.You just did what you wanted. And in the process, you upset Rosemary, and Pastor Jim and I had to come back early from the house to find you three and deal with things.” 

“I'm sorry,” I repeated, tears filling my eyes once more. 

He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. “I know you have a lot of common sense, I'm just not sure why you've decided to stop using it. You need to start thinking things through before you decide to do them, understand? And if this keeps happening, the consequence is going to get more serious.” 

“Uh, like what?” I asked with apprehension.

“I'll have to think about it,” he said. He reached over and took the pillow out of my arms, and then gestured to me.

“Come here, Kate,” he said. I gulped, and got up, moving over next to him. I hesitated for a long moment, and before I knew it he took my upper arm and was guiding me over his lap.

My torso was on the bed, and I grabbed the quilt in my fists and rested my head on the mattress, closing my eyes. His hand began to fall on my bottom at a steady pace, and the sting built up quickly, and before long I was crying.

“I'm sorry Dad!” I sobbed. “Please, I'm sorry, we won't do it again! I promise!” My feet started to kick involuntarily as he laid down another round of harder swats.

Then I realized he had stopped spanking, and I laid there with my chest hitching as I sobbed. He pulled me up onto his lap and I threw my arms around him. He hugged me for a few minutes, and then said, “The rules are going to change somewhat, but we'll discuss that tonight after dinner. I want this to be the last time I have to do this with all three of you, about running off to do your own thing. Is that clear?” 

“Yes sir,” I said. 

He kissed the top of my head. “When you've calmed down, wash your hands and face and come downstairs, I'm sure dinner is almost ready.” 

 

I walked into the kitchen, trying not to sniffle, and asked, “What can I do to help?”

Rosemary turned to me. Then she pulled me into a hug. “You three need to stop scaring me,” she said quietly, “Y'all are gonna give me a head full of gray hairs.”  
She let me go and looked down at me. “You start thinkin' things through before you do them, you hear?”

“Yes ma'am,” I said. “I'm sorry.”

“Well, sorry's just words, I want to see you change your behavior, and that will show me you're sorry. Dishes are on the table, set everyone's place,” she told me.  
I went into the dining room and set the table. The boys came in as I was finishing up. Sam had a stack of napkins, and he began to fold them and put one by each plate. 

I touched Dean's shoulder. “Sorry we got in trouble,” I said quietly. “I should have insisted we go home.” 

He shrugged. “S' okay,” he said. “We all stayed there together, so we all got in trouble together.”

All three of us were quiet during dinner. When we had finished eating, Dad put his fork down and said, “All right, we need to talk about rules.”

I glanced over at Sam and Dean, who were both staring at the table.

“The three of you are not allowed to go outside by yourselves right now. If you want to go outside, you have to ask, and if no one is available to watch you, then you'll have to wait.”

“That's not fair!” Sam protested. “We're not little babies! We were able to go outside by ourselves before!”

“Well, your actions have shown me that I can't trust you right now, so it's going to have to be this way until I feel that I can trust you again.” Dad told him.

“When's that gonna be?” Dean exclaimed. “That's not fair, Dad!”

“It's more than fair. In fact I think I'm being rather lenient.” 

“What's that mean?” Sam asked, frowning.

“Tolerant,” Dad said. “Easygoing. I could be much more strict about it, but I'm not.” 

“How are we s'posed to earn your trust back?” Dean asked with annoyance.

“You do what you're told, and you follow the rules to the letter.” Dad tapped his finger on the table as he spoke. “I'm telling you, if you wander off again, the consequence is going to get a lot more severe. Because this has to do with your personal safety, and I am not going to lose any of you. You need to remember to think about things and make sure you're not doing something that's potentially unsafe. And obviously, since you aren't thinking that way right now, the rules have to be more restrictive.”

“Well I think it's dumb,” Sam crossed his arms and pouted.

“You can think that all you want, Samuel,” Dad said. “In fact, you can think about it when you go to bed early tonight, for being disrespectful.”

Sam looked up at him and scowled. “I gotta go to bed early too? This sucks!”

“Sam!” I gasped, and Rosemary and Dean looked as shocked as I felt. 

Dad glared at Sam. “Get back up to your room, young man! You will not use that kind of language in this house!” 

Sam glared back at him, and then slid off of his chair and ran out of the room. We heard his footsteps pounding up the stairs, and then the bedroom door slam.

Dad shook his head. “That boy--” he sighed.

“I'll go talk to him, John,” Pastor Jim said. “You need to take a break.” 

That night when Dad came to tuck me in, he asked, “Has Sam talked to you at all?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“About feeling frustrated because things are different.”

“Yeah, he said he wished it was like before, when we could go to the Circle and all. I told him it wasn't like that any more.”

Dad nodded. “I told him that too, this is new and different, and it's going to take some time to get used to everything. And until we get used to things, I'm going to be a little more overprotective of you three.” 

“I understand.” I said. “I'll keep talking to him about it.” 

Dad leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “Thanks, Kate. Sammy's a stubborn kid, hopefully more people talking to him will get through to him. Good night.” 

 

 

The next day was the last day of Vacation Bible School. It was very hectic- the younger kids had to practice their little program that they were going to be doing on Sunday. We had to sit and watch them perform. Sam was all into it, singing and doing the hand gestures. Dean stood at the back of the group with some of the older kids and looked uncomfortable. I felt bad for him. Then the groups divided up to play Bible Jeopardy. I was with the teens, and I couldn't answer one of the questions. I had read through some of the chapters that Rosemary had marked off, but I hadn't retained anything that I had read.   
After the game, we were allowed to go outside, and Luke started another baseball game. We played until the end, when parents started to pick up their kids.   
“Hey, want to stay here for a while and keep practicing?” Luke asked.   
“No, I can't,” I said. “We, uh, we got in trouble for not going straight home yesterday.”  
“Oh, yeah, you're the ones who got lost in the woods recently,” he said. “My dad was part of the search party.”  
I blushed. “Yeah, so now, everyone's being all over-protective with us.”   
“I get it,” he said. “You don't wanna get in trouble again. If that had been me wandering off in the woods like that, my ass would have been grass. I'll see you Sunday.”   
“Okay,” I said, “See you.” I walked over to the playground to get Sam from his group. On Sunday the kids were going to perform their songs during church, and then afterwards there was going to be a celebration with a cookout and stuff like that for the staff and kids that had been at VBS. So I guess all of us were going to have to go to church. That was going to be interesting.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time, pretty much just fluff and feels...  
> *************

We got out of the car and walked up the porch steps.

“Here goes,” Dad said, putting the key in the lock. We followed him into the house. Our new house.

“Wow!” Sam and Dean ran into the middle of the living room and turned around. 

“Most of the furniture is used,” Dad said apologetically.

“Don't say it like that, John,” Pastor Jim said. “Some of this stuff is practically antique.” 

There was a matching sofa and armchair, a recliner, shelves- with books on them- and a desk in the corner of the living room. There was a dining room table with chairs, and a smaller table in the kitchen. Rosemary set the box down she was carrying and opened it.

“More dishes,” she said. She gestured to the cabinets. “Check it out.”

I opened the cabinets. There were dishes and pots and pans already in place.

“Where did all of this come from?” I asked her. 

“The church has a big storage area where we keep things that are donated,” she told me with a smile. “There's a lot of extras, so I found what was needed for you.”

“Let's go look at the bedrooms,” Pastor Jim said.

We followed him down the hall to the boy's bedroom first. Sam's bed had sheets that had dinosaurs on it, and Den's sheets had race cars. There were glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the ceiling above their beds. There was a low dresser and they each had a small desk. There was also a small set of shelves with bins of Matchbox cars and Legos, and other toys.

“Come on,” Dad pulled on my arm. I followed him into the room that was going to be mine. It had a matching bedroom set- a wooden bedframe, dresser, desk, and a rocking chair. The drawer pulls on the dresser were little metal books!

“One of the women who was helping us found them,” Pastor Jim said with a smile. There was a set of classic books by authors like Jane Austen and the Brontes, on the desk. Then bed had a knitted afghan in pretty shades of blue that went with the paint in the room.

“Rosemary knitted the afghan,” Pastor Jim said.

“Thank you,” I turned to her. “That was very nice of you!” 

“I'm in the process of knitting ones for the boys too, I just didn't have time to get them all finished,” she told us with a smile. 

Dad and Pastor Jim brought in our bags, and the boys and I spent some time unpacking our clothes and putting them away. I helped the boys after I was done with my things, since I didn't have as much stuff as they did. 

We had gone through our clothing over the weekend and sorted out the clothing that was too small. Dad had said we would go on a shopping trip this week to buy clothes and supplies for school. Just the thought of going to school made me nervous. 

I carried the duffles into Dad's room and left them on the floor in there so he could put them away. 

“Kate, could you come here?” he called from the living room.

I walked into the living room, looking for him, and saw he was in the dining room. He motioned to me, and I walked into the room.

There was a large sheet cake on the table that said, “Welcome to the Family, Kate Winchester” on it, in the middle of the table. 

I looked at Dad. “What's--”

“The paperwork came in, and you're part of the family now!” he said, with a huge smile. 

He hugged me, and I started to cry. 

When he let me go, Pastor Jim handed me the birth certificate. It said “Kaitlin Mary Winchester” on it, and that my father was John Eric Winchester. 

“Congratulations,” Pastor Jim said, and he hugged me, and then Rosemary hugged me too. 

The doorbell rang, and Dad went to answer it. “Pizza's here!” he said.

Dean and Sam both hugged me. “Now you're our sister for real!” Dean said with a smile.

“Why are you crying, Kate?” Sam asked me. “Aren't you happy?”

“I am, Sammy,” I told him. “Sometimes people cry when they're happy.” 

We sat and ate pizza at our new dining room table, on the new dishes. We had cake and ice cream for dessert, and then there were presents for me. Rosemary gave me a set of baking pans, and Pastor Jim gave me a baseball mitt, bat, and a couple of balls. The last present was from Dad- two framed photos. One was of me walking across the parking lot of the church, holding Sam and Dean's hands. 

“Someone took that as you were leaving after VBS last week, they thought the three of you looked cute when you left every day,” Rosemary said.

The second photo was from the VBS picnic, it was Dad and the boys and me all standing together when we were waiting in line for food. Dad had his hand on my shoulder and Sam was holding one of my hands. We had been talking about baseball at that moment, I remembered. 

I started crying again. “Thank you,” I said, “I feel like I should say more than that but I don't know what else to say.”

“Thank you is enough,” Pastor Jim said with a smile.

Dad came over to me and hugged me again. “You've been part of the family for a while now, but this makes it official,” he said. 

There were baseball mitts for Sam and Dean too, so after we ate, we went to the back yard and threw the baseballs around for a while. There were some folding canvas chairs on a little patio and the adults sat there and watched us while they chatted. It was starting to get dark when they stood up.

“Let's go inside now,” Dad called to us. “Say good bye to Pastor Jim and Rosemary.”

They hugged all of us and left, and Dad let us have another piece of cake as a bedtime snack. “Tomorrow, we can talk about chores and rules,” he told us. “And I'm sure we'll meet some of the neighbors. I know there are some kids in the neighborhood too.”

“Is there a circle?” Sam asked.

“No, this street isn't a cul-de-sac, nor is there a stream, fortunately. So that will be one less temptation for you three. Pastor Jim is looking into finding bikes for you.” 

“I want a skateboard,” Dean said.

“You do? Well, I'm sure we can get one for you,” Dad replied. “We'll go shopping for clothes and school supplies in a couple of days. I'm going to start working in three days, I wanted to have a couple of days here to settle in.”

“Where are you gonna work, Daddy?” Sam asked him.

“There's a mechanic in town that hired me. The hours will be very regular, which is good. The owner has kids too, so he will understand if I have to take a sick day to care for one of you or whatever.” He smiled at us. “I think that next week is when school has their orientations and everything.” He looked at me. “What are you thinking, Kate?”

“Thinking about school makes me nervous,” I said. 

He put his hand on mine. “Everyone is nervous at the start, but it will be fine. Boys, clear the table, and then get ready for bed, all right?”

 

There was a knock on the door, and Dad came into my room.

“Time for lights out,” he told me, walking over to the bed and sitting down. “How are you feeling?”

“A little sore and stiff, still,” I said, closing my book. I had played baseball for a long time at the VBS picnic yesterday, and my body wasn't used to it. I put the book on the bedside table and he smiled at me.

“What?” I asked.

“I was just remembering how stubborn you were when I told you to stop reading and go to bed, those first couple of times.” he said.

I felt a little embarrassed, thinking back. “I was so sassy to you!” 

He chuckled. “Well, you weren't used to someone being parental and telling you what to do like that. You were used to doing your own thing. I'm glad you didn't get angry with me about it.” 

“Well actually...I was pretty annoyed at you.” 

He chuckled again. “You were? You really didn't show it that much.”

“Yeah, my parents weren't big on emotions and all, you know?”

“I know,” he sighed. “I'm so glad I got you out of there when I did. I honestly considered picking up and leaving, and taking you with us. I knew that something had to be done...I was worried about you.” 

“You were?”

“Yes, your father's erratic behavior had me really concerned. But now we know that it was because his life was falling apart,” He shifted on the bed. “I wanted to tell you, there was money in the safe, too, and I took it. He must have been lying about not having it, or waiting until he had more. I took it, and I've been sitting on it for a while. So we've got a bit of a nest egg, and you don't have to worry about things like buying clothes or whatever. All right?”

“You mean...my father had been taking money from people?”

“I don't know where the money came from, Kate.” Dad said. “I put a lot of it in savings for now. You should get some sleep.” 

I leaned forward and hugged him. “Thanks for everything, Dad,” I said. He put his arms around me and hugged me back, then kissed the top of my head.   
I laid down, and he pulled the covers up and tucked me in. I turned off my bedside lamp as he left the room, and blinked back the happy tears that had come to my eyes again. I was with a real family now, with people who loved me and cared about me. I felt so grateful that things had changed. I looked at the photo of us, on my bedside table, and then I closed my eyes to go to sleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night to the room feeling like it was ice cold. I pulled the afghan up around me and huddled under it. I was going to have to ask Dad if he had turned the air conditioning way down. I heard a creak, and opened my eyes. The rocking chair in my room was moving slightly- it must be over top of the vent. I'd have to move it in the morning. I rolled over and went back to sleep.


	28. Chapter 28

Sam pointed at the mannequin wearing a matching bra and panty set and said, "Eww," then he and Dean burst into giggles.

"I'm afraid I won't be much help here, Kate," Dad said apologetically.

"That's okay," I said, feeling embarrassed.

"We'll be over in the boy's department, come find us when you're done." Dad said, pushing the cart slightly.

"Okay," I said.

"I want a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt!" Sam hopped in place.

"A teenage mutant what?" Dad asked.

"It's a cartoon, Dad." Dean told him.

"Hmm, back in my day we just had cartoons with rabbits, ducks and pigs, none of these mutant turtles or anything," Dad raised his eyebrow.

"Daaaad!" Sam said. "The Ninja Turtles are cool!"

Dad ruffled his hair. "I'm just teasing you, Sammy. All right, let's go. We'll see you in a little while, Kate."

We were shopping for school clothes, and Dad had dropped me off in the Junior's Department. I wasn't sure what to do- in the past, my mother had taken me to an upscale department store, found an employee, and then the two of them had put together outfits for me and made me try them on. I hadn't ever really had a say in what I was wearing, and now I didn't even know what to pick out for myself.

I wandered through the racks of clothes, and finally decided on plain t-shirts in different colors and some comfortable loose jeans. My mother had always stayed on top of what was fashionable, but I had never cared. I wanted to wear what I felt comfortable in, and I didn't really care what the current fashions were. I found some long sleeved t-shirts too, and a couple of pretty patterned sweaters.

I made my way over to the boy's department, and I could hear them in a dressing room.

"I don't like these, they're too big," Sam was saying. "I like my old jeans."

"Your old jeans have holes in the knees," Dad told him, "you need to next size up too. Once we wash them a couple of times they'll feel better."

"Dad, can I go pick out some t-shirts? I'll be right out side."

"Go ahead, Dean, just be careful," Dad sighed.

I heard a door open and then Dean came out of the dressing room area.

"I thought you would take a long time!" he said. "Don't girls take a long time with clothes?"

"Not this girl!" I told him.

"I want a Star Wars t-shirt, come see what they have!" Dean motioned me to follow him. There was a display with shirts that had logos of bands, and pictures of characters from movies on them. Dean picked out a couple.

Dad came walking over to us. "There you are," he said. "Did you find some clothes?"

"Yeah, I put them in the cart," I told him. We walked over and he sorted through everything. "No dresses or skirts, Kate?" he asked.

"I'm not really a dress kind of girl," I said, feeling shy.

"Okay. If you decide that you want some, let me know, and I'll get you some dresses. You may need one for a dance or something."

"Kate's going to go to a dance?" Sam teased. "With a boy?"

"No, probably not," I said, feeling myself start to blush. "Hush, you." I poked Sam in the stomach and he giggled.

After the boys had picked out some shirts we walked over to the shoe section and tried on shoes. I helped Sam while Dad helped Dean.

"How is it that your feet have gotten so much bigger in one season, kid?" Dad asked Dean. "You and Sammy are probably going to be taller than me one day."

"That will be so funny!" Sam said, hopping in place. "I'll be the tallest one of all, and I'll get to tell you what to do!"

"Being tall doesn't have anything to do with telling people what to do, Sam," I told him. "Dean and I will still be older than you, so we'll still be in charge."

"Nuh-uh, when I'm big, no one will be the boss of me," Sam said with a grin.

"You keep thinking that, little brother," Dean said, and he grabbed Sam and started to tickle him.

"All right, you two, settle down," Dad told them. "Kate, do you need new shoes yet?"

"Mine are okay," I said. "I don't think my feet have grown any this summer."

"Well then, we just need jackets and then we can go," Dad said. "Boys, hold off on the silliness a little bit longer, please."

Even though Sam and Dean's behavior deteriorated rapidly after that, because they were bored, Dad didn't get annoyed this time- he was in a good mood.

 

We stopped to eat at a diner on the way home. When the waitress brought our food, she said, "Your children are so polite, and sweet with each other!" She smiled at us as she handed out the plates.

Dad looked across the table at me and smiled. "Yes, they are. Thank you."

Sam looked up at me. " 'Member when that old lady thought you were part of our family, when we went to get ice cream? Now, it's for real!" He grinned at me.

"Yes, it is," I said, grinning back at him. "Now we're stuck with each other!" I tickled his side.

"Heeyy!" he said, moving away from me. "Cut that out!"

"Settle down, you two," Dad said.

Sam and I kept teasing and tickling each other throughout the meal. I hadn't had anyone to goof around with like that before, and it was fun. Dean kept laughing at us, and when we were on the way home, he joined in, until Dad had to tell us to stop being so rowdy.

 

We were in the living room, cutting the tags off of the new clothes, when the doorbell rang. Dad opened the door.

"Hi, I'm, uh, one of the new neighbors," said a woman with dark blonde hair. "I live a few houses down, and I'm on the Neighborhood Watch and the Welcoming Committee. My name is April Jones."

"Come in," Dad stepped back and opened the door. She came into the house. She was holding a dish with plastic wrap over it.

"I know this is kind of a cliché, but I brought you a peach cobbler to welcome you," she said, blushing a little bit. "Sorry, I'm not very good at this," she gave us a nervous smile.

"I'm John Winchester," Dad offered his hand and they shook, "and this is my daughter, Kate. My boys are outside."

"I'll take that," I stepped forward and took the dish out of her hands, then walked it to the kitchen.

"Is there a Mrs. Winchester?" she asked, looking around.

"Oh, uh, no, just us," Dad smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said apologetically, her face getting even more red.

"It's all right," Dad said.

"I live about 4 houses down, it's the house with all the little kid toys in front of it," she said. "I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old."

"Sam is 6, maybe the kids will be in the same class." Dad said.

"Maybe. You know that orientation is in a couple of weeks, right?"

"Yes, I got the paperwork," Dad told her.

"Well, I just wanted to introduce myself," she said after a long moment of silence. "I'll be seeing you around."

Dad let her out of the house, and turned to me. "Hopefully all the neighbors won't be that awkward," he said.

I gathered up all the new clothes and went to put them in the washing machine, then went into the kitchen to look through the cabinets and figure out where everything was.

Dad came in. "Getting the lay of the land?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I've never had to do this before, so it's kinda weird. Can I move stuff around?"

"Sure, put things where it's best for you. You're a better cook than me, so you'll probably do more cooking in here."

I felt myself blushing. "I'm not-"

"I didn't start learning how to cook until I was in the marines, with a bunch of men who were confirmed bachelors, so a lot of what I make is basically- well they called it 'bachelor chow'. Add into that having to make do with whatever canned goods you've got when you're in the middle of the jungle in Vietnam, and my cooking skills are just a step above keeping a person alive." he grinned at me. "It's okay that you're better than me, and it's okay to say that."

"O-okay," I said, realizing why it had made me uncomfortable- because my father would never have said something like that, he always had to point out his accomplishments and could never allow that there was someone in the room who might have been better at something than him.

"I'm glad that you can cook well, Kate, and I hope that you get better at it, and that you teach the boys," his voice became soft. "I feel bad that they've grown up without the influence of a mother, and without a lot of good home-cooked meals, and I think that having you around has helped them, even though you're not their mother." He pulled me into a hug.

I felt tears come to my eyes. "Thanks," I said.

The front door opened and then Sam appeared in the doorway. "Kate, you should come meet the kids, there's a bunch on the street!"

Dad let me go. "Go ahead, I'll figure out dinner. Go make some friends."

I reluctantly followed Sam outside- I was unsure about meeting more new faces right now. Dean and Sam introduced me to everyone, but I hung back and just watched as they started having races with their bikes and skateboards. There were several kids of all different ages, and I couldn't remember anyone's name.

 

I brought the laundry basket into the boy's room, and took a stack of clothes out, setting them on Sam's bed.

"Here's your new stuff," I told him. "Dean, yours is in the basket."

"Let's put them away now," Dad said. He had come in to say good night to the boys.

"Hey, did one of you go into my room earlier?" I asked.

"No, why?" Dean opened one of his drawers and shoved the folded shirts in there.

"Well, when I went in to put my clothes away, all the drawers of my bureau were open a little bit like someone had gone through them."

"Not me," Sam said.

"Me neither," Dean chimed in.

I frowned. "Hmm," I said. Maybe I just hadn't closed them all the way this morning. I'd been in a hurry when I was getting dressed.

"Daddy, it gets cold in here at night," Sam said, bouncing on his bed.

"What do you mean?" Dad asked. "I know the AC did kick on last night."

"When I was falling asleep it got real cold for a while," Sam told him.

"Well, sometimes older houses can have cold spots," Dad frowned briefly.

"I felt it too," I said, "I woke up in the middle of the night and it was freezing."

"Okay, I won't turn the AC down so low then," Dad said, "All right, in bed with you."

The boys got into their beds, and both Dad and I hugged and kissed them. Afterwards we went to the living room.

"It's nice to be in our own house again," Dad remarked as I sat down with a book. "I've moved the boys around so much in the past few years, it's good when we get to settle in somewhere."

"I hope that this is a nice place," I said. I still felt nervous about going to a new school and meeting new people. I had lived in the same house, in the same area, all my life.

"I think it is, Jim has lived here for over 20 years," he told me.

 

That night, I woke up again briefly, hearing creaking. I opened my eyes- the rocking chair was moving slightly, and I remembered that I'd forgotten to move it away from the vent. I stood up and stumbled over to it, pulling it a couple of feet away from the bed, and then got back into bed. I rolled over and went back to sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for a short chapter, this is what I had been writing right before I broke my pinky. I wrote a bit more, but I've had to write in fits and starts because my pinky is buddy-taped to my ring finger and it's awkward. It's about three weeks out now since I broke it and it's healing well, but I still need to rest it from time to time, and keep it taped. A new chapter will be coming soon!  
> ************

I stumbled out to the kitchen the next morning to get breakfast. The first thing I noticed was that all the doors were open- every single cabinet door in the whole kitchen.

I walked over to the shelf and pulled a box of cereal off and then got a bowl out for the cereal. As I set them down on the table, Sam and Dean came in, rubbing their eyes sleepily.

"I know you guys don't know where anything is in the kitchen yet, but couldn't you at least close the cabinets after you looked?" I asked them.

Dean stared at me. "Kate, we just woke up, we didn't do anything."

The kitchen door opened and Dad came in from the backyard, holding a mug in his hand.

"What's up?" he looked at all three of us.

I gestured at the open cabinets. "I came out here to get breakfast, and all the the cabinets are wide open! Couldn't they close them after they're done?"

"Dean told you we just woke up!" Sam said irritably. "Why don't you believe him?"

Dad looked up at the cabinets that were over the stove. "And I don't think Sam or Dean could get up there to open those. Calm down, Kate."

"Well then how'd they get open?" I asked, sitting down and pouring the cereal. "Ugh, I need milk!" I grumped, standing up again.

"What's got you so cranky?" Dad asked, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"I don't know, I kept waking up last night. The rocker was creaking and moving a lot, so I moved it away from the vent." I got the milk out of the fridge and took it over to the table.

"Sit down, I'll make some eggs for you." Dad said. He started to close the cabinets. "You boys just woke up?" he asked.

"Yeah," Dean said, rubbing his eyes.

"Hmm," Dad muttered to himself.

"I kept waking up too," Sam said. "It gets real cold at night, Daddy."

"All right, I'll check the thermostat before I got to bed, I forgot to last night." Dad told him. He looked around the room.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Dad said. He got out eggs and a large bowl, and then put a pan on the stove.

"You boys going to go out and play with the kids you met yesterday?" he asked as he cracked eggs into the bowl. "Kate, you should go out and meet them too, see who else is in the neighborhood."

"Umm, I don't know," I said hesitantly.

"Come on, I don't want you hiding in the house for the rest of the summer. This is a chance to make some new friends," Dad said.

"I know, I'm just...shy."

"Don't be shy, Kate, we'll be with you!" Sam said, "and we'll protect you from any jerkwads!"

"Sammy, watch the mouth," Dad said in a warning tone. He got out a stack of plates and set them on the table, and then put some forks down. I handed the boys a plate and fork and ate my cereal. Dean got up and started to make toast. Looking at them, I thought how nice it was to be in the kitchen with them making breakfast. I had spent so many mornings alone at my parent's house, often eating a piece of toast over the sink so that I didn't have to use a plate.

"What's wrong, Kate? You look sad," Sam said.

I blinked my eyes and focused on him. "Nothing, Sam, just thinking about the past."

"Well, your future can be whatever you want to make it," Dad said, squeezing my shoulder. He served everyone a portion of eggs, and Dean brought toast over to the table. Dad got out some butter and buttered the toast and passed it around.

 

 

By the time we were all dressed and ready to go, there were several kids outside in the street already. Most of them were younger than me, between Sam and Dean's ages. There was a house across the street, on the corner, with a large open yard that was flat, and it was the place where all of the kids congregated and hung out.

"This is where the bus stop is," one of the boys told me.

""For all the kids?" I asked.

"I dunno, I'm in elementary school," he said.

 

I walked back over to our house and went inside. As I walked down the hall to the bathroom, I could hear a strange electronic beeping sound coming from my room. Dad was standing next to the rocking chair, and he turned when I came in. He was holding something in his hand that kept lighting up.

"What are you doing?" I asked, coming in.

"Oh, I'm just –checking for cold spots," he told me.

"What is that?" I tried to look at the device in his hand, but he put his hand down so I couldn't see it.

"It's a—device for checking electrical surges," he told me.

I looked at him, trying to figure out if he was lying. "Come on, Dad," I said, "You're a mechanic, not an electrician. Are you looking for something supernatural?"

He exhaled. "All right, Kate, yes, I'm checking it out."

I felt nervous. "What- what do you think-"

"That's why I wanted you three out of the house, so I could investigate on my own. I don't want you getting scared."

"Can I help?" Iasked.

He shook his head. "You have no training, and you wouldn't know what to look for. And I want you out of the way and safe."

"I'm a fast learner, and I could help you-"

"I said no. I'm looking into this, and I'll figure it out."

"Will you let me know what you find?" I asked.

"Well...we'll see. Let me do some poking around first, I don't want to jump to any conclusions. I will let you know something."

The device made a beeping sound and he looked at it.

"What is that?" I asked again.

"Kate, I don't want to explain any of this to you right now," he said, "go back outside."

I sighed. "All right," I said. I used the bathroom and then went back outside.


End file.
